THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


^•*r^       f  >- 


\    50 


PERSONAL 


SKETCHES   AND  RECOLLECTIONS 


IN  A  SERIES  OF 


FAMILIAR  LETTERS  TO  A  FRIEND. 


AND 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


BY 

MRS.  ELOISE  MILES  ABBOTT. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED   BY  ABEL  TOMPKINS, 

38  &  40  Cornhill. 
1861. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1861,  by 

ELOISE   MILES  ABBOTT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


Printed  by 

BAZIN  &  CHANDLER, 

37  Corahill. 


ioot> 


'(61} 


PREFACE. 


In  presenting  this  unpretending  volume  to  that  great  and 
discerning  family,  the  public,  the  author  does  not  come  to 
them  beneatn  the  covert  of  an  apology,  or  with  an  excuse 
for  intruding  on  their  notice  a  book,  for  she  has  not  a  doubt 
but  it  will  be  appreciated  by  her  personal  friends  and  rela 
tives,  beyond  its  real  merits  ;  and  to  others,  it  does  not  pre 
tend  to  possess  any  great  value  or  interest,  or  be  any  consid 
erable  accession  to  the  literary  world.  Those  friends  who 
have  flatteringly  encouraged  me  to  embody,  in  book  form, 
some  of  my  newspaper  articles,  and  essays  of  former  years, 
have  my  most  hearty  thanks.  The  incidents  are  such  as 
might  be  expected  to  occur  in  the  everyday  life  of  one  who 
engages  in  business  which  necessitates  an  exchange  of  thought 
and  opinion  with  the  multitude. 

There  is,  therefore,  nothing  remarkable  or  startling  claimed 
for  them.  Hoping  that  these  pages  may  not  be  wholly  useless, 
or  uninteresting  to  my  numerous  acquaintances,  and  others 
who  may  chance  to  read  them,  I  humbly  submit  them  to  their 


IV  PREFACE. 

kind  indulgence,  knowing  they  will  not   abide  the  test  of  se 
vere  criticism. 

If  there  are  any  good  and  noble  principles  inculcated  here, 
they  will  survive  when  she  who  penned  them,  will  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  praise  or  censure. 

ELOISE  M.  ABBOTT. 
Hopkinton,  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  T.,  Feb.  18G1. 


INTRODUCTION. 


To  Miss  FIDELIA  HADLEY,  Milwaukie,  Wis. 

MY  DEAR  FIDELIA  : — Many  thanks  for  your  last  letter, 
which  came  to  me  with  a  hearty  welcome,  as  all  previous 
ones  have,  indited  by  the  same  kind  heart.  Your  continued 
assurances  of  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  my  personal 
recollections  are  truly  flattering,  and  bear  the  pleasing  im 
press  of  genuine  regard.  To  affect  an  indifference  to  the  in 
terest  our  friends  manifest  in  our  feeble  efforts  would  betray  a 
vanity  of  greater  magnitude  than  to  admit  the  fact,  that  an 
occasional  smile  of  approval  from  loved  ones  smooth  the 
rough  edge  of  adversity,  and  sweetens  all  the  toils  of  life. 
The  memory  of  such  friends  is  everlastingly  enshrined  with 
the  heart's  most  endearing  remembrances.  But  for  you  to 
imagine  that  others  would  read,  with  any  considerable  de 
gree  of  interest,  what  your  friend  and  ' '  most  obedient  ser 
vant"  has  written  for  your  eye  alone,  is  to  me  but  another 
proof  that  you  are  blind  to  the  faults  of  my  indifferent  com 
position. 

Hence,  your  request  to  have  my  letters  and  essays  pub 
lished  in  book  form,  came  to  me   with  a  surprise  which,  I 
1* 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

have  already  acknowledged,  was  a  pleasant  one ;  and  you 
will  need  no  other  assurance  of  the  truth  of  it,  when  I  tell 
you  that  I  have  concluded  to  comply  with  your  request 

Being  a  distant  relative,  perhaps,  accounts  somewhat  for 
your  interest  in  the  story  of  my  family  history ;  and  presum 
ing  on  your  good  nature,  as  formerly,  for  a  veil  of  charity  to 
be  thrown  over  what  will  be  written  hereafter,  I  wait  for  time 
to  determine  whether  it  would  have  been  better  for  all  con 
cerned,  had  my  rehearsals  met  with  a  rebuff  at  your  hands. 

The  authors  of  books  generally  see  the  necessity  of  just 
such  a  book  as  theirs,  "  to  fill  a  vacancy  long  felt  in  the  pub 
lic  mind,"  and  their  solicitude  is  more  in  behalf  of  the  dear 
public,  whose  servant  they  have  reluctantly  consented  to  be 
come,  than  in  their  own. 

In  one  respect,  my  book  is  like  nearly  every  other  one 
published  in  these  self-sacrificing  times ; — the  object  of  it  is, 
to  fill  a  "vacancy,"  but  that  vacancy  is  in  my  own  purse, 
and  not  in  the  public  mind,  for  that  would  probably  never 
have  suffered  a  great  loss  had  it  not  appeared  before  them. 
If  any  books  are  especially  needed  by  the  public  in  these 
days,  when  a  "  mob  of  books,"  as  some  one  has  expressed  it 
before  me,  is  being  driven  by  steam  from  the  doors  of  our 
presses,  Autobiographies  of  living  persons  are  not  of  that 
class,  certainly  of  none  but  those  who  have  attained  a  celeb 
rity. 

"  What  is  writ  is  writ,"  and  if  the  reader  should  be  led  to 
mistrust  by  it,  that  the  dollar  he  has  paid  me  has  had  more 
bearing  on  my  motives  for  writing  for  his  benefit,  than  feel 
ings  for  him,  perhaps  he  has  good  reason  for  it. 

I  have  been  somewhat  amused  by  reading  recently,  a  criti 
cism  on  a  book  written  by  a  woman  in  London,  entitled, 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

"  Fruits  of  Character.  Being  Twenty-five  years  Literary 
and  Personal  Recollections.  By  a  Contemporary.  London  : 
Hurst  &  Baackett.  1860."  The  criticism  appeared  in  the 
"  British  Saturday  Review,"  of  Oct.  13,  under  the  head  of 
"  Reviews,"  in  the  Editorial  department.  The  article  is  a 
lengthy  one,  and  every  line  cuts  like  a  razor.  I  have 
only  space  for  a  few  extracts,  which  I  give  below,  that  you 
may  see  the  fate  some  books  meet  with  from  the  lions  of  the 
press.  After  all,  there  is  a  kind  of  exultant  pleasure  to  us 
pigmies,  on  this  side  of  the  water,  in  the  fact  that  there  are 
silly  women  so  called  in  the  great  metropolis  of  Great  Brit 
ain.  It  would  frighten  me  into  a,  resolve  never  to  put  pen 
to  paper  again,  to  have  my  meagre  laurels  withered  and  torn 
with  a  single  blast  of  such  a  mighty  trumpet. 

"  The  authoress  of  this  work  is  evidently  a  well-meaning 
woman  in  her  way,  but  she  has  written  a  detestably  bad  book. 
That  she  is  a  well-meaning  woman,  and  has  written  a  bad 
book,  is  not  much  against  her,  for  three  well-meaning  women 
out  of  four  write  books,  and  nine  out  of  ten  books  written  by 
well-meaning  women  are  bad.  ******  gne  has  evidently 
had  a  strong  desire  for  many  years  to  know  something,  how 
ever  little,  of  persons  eminent  for  different  degrees  of  good 
ness  and  merit.  She  has  picked  up  a  kind  of  intimacy,  or 
managed  to  bring  herself  in  contact,  with  persons  whose  ac 
quaintance  might  fairly  be  an  object  of  ambition  to  generous 
and  enthusiastic  minds.  But  she  has  used  her  acquaintance 
with  them  for  the  worst  of  all  possible  purposes.  Eminence 
has  no  worse  penalty  attached  to  it  in  these  days,  than  that 
well-meaning  women  should  hook  themselves  on  to  its  skirts, 
and  then  bring  all  the  little  gossip  they  can  collect  about  it  in 
to  the  light  of  day.  It  is  a  terrible  curse  on  excellence  that 
it  should  attract  to  it  persons  who  like  to  have  the  excitement 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

of  coming  in  contact  with  notoriety,  and  who  take  advantage  of 
the  openness  with  which  their  advances  are  received,  to  sell 
their  reminiscences,  and  to  distribute  their  petty  measure  of 
praise  or  blame  on  characters  equally  above  both.  These  har 
pies  of  private  life  are  always  hateful ;  but  sometimes  a  book 
is  written  in  which  one  of  the  tribe  accumulates  all  the  faults 
peculiar  to  the  class.  The  worst  qualities  which  a  collection  of 
"  Literary  and  Personal  Recollections  "  can  have,  are,  that  it 
should  be  empty,  fulsome,  malevolent,  and  egotistical ;  and 
these  are  the  precise  characteristics  that  mark  these  volumes. 

"  The  emptiness  of  these  "  Recollections  "  rises  to  the  level 
of  audacity.  There  is  honor  among  thieves,  and  there  are 
recognized  limits  even  of  book-making.  But  the  book-making 
in  these  volumes  is  beyond  all  bounds.  Of  at  least  two-thirds 
of  the  persons  of  whose  character  she  pretends  to  give  traits, 
the  authoress  has  simply  nothing  to  say.  She  met  them  in  so 
ciety  on  one  or  more  occasions,  but  that  was  all.  Irrelevant 
remarks,  depreciatory  of  others,  and  laudatory  of  herself,  car 
ry  her  through  many  difficulties,  but  sometimes  she  goes  fur 
ther  a-field.  She  takes  the  name  of  a  man  she  has  met,  and 
after  one  or  two  desultory  observations  on  his  personal  appear 
ance,  she  wanders  into  descriptions  of  anything  she  has  ever 
done  or  seen,  that  she  may  happen  to  recollect,  and  which  she 
can  pretend  to  connect  by  the  faintest  tie  with  the  person  of 
whom  she  is  speaking." 

"  Sometimes  the  authoress  praises  freely  and  lengthily,  and 
it  is  then  that  her  fulsomeness  is  displayed.  The  two  of  her 
contemporaries,  whom  she  chiefly  idolizes,  are  Mr.  Bellew  and 
Mr.  Spurgeon.  ********  As  to  Mr.  Spurgeon,  the  au 
thoress  has  confidence  equally  valuable  to  pour  out.  This 
popular  preacher  is  '  unquestionably  a  short  man,'  and  it  is 
<  somewhat  singular  '  that  '  all  our  popular  preachers  are  short, 
except  Dr.  Gumming  and  Mr.  Bellew.'  She  then,  after  an  ac 
count  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  career,  informs  us  that  his  moral 
character  is  of  unimpeachable  purity,  that  he  is  happily  mar- 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

ried,  and  that  he  has  two  very  fine  children — twin-boys — one 
the  miniature  resemblance  of  himself,  the  other  of  his  wife. 
We  further  learn,  that  these  children  were  born  when  Mr.  Spur- 
geon  was  away  from  home  ;  and  that  ordinarily,  when  he  comes 
home  after  his  day's  work,  he  '  becomes  almost  exuberant  in 
his  gaiety,'  rushes  up  to  his  wife  with  '  Come,  Susy,  give  me  a 
kiss  '  and  tosses  the  twin  babes,  one  by  one,  in  the  air.'  There 
is  plenty  more  in  the  same  style  ;  and  it  is  a  style  which,  for 
anything  we  know,  may  be  acceptable  to  popular  preachers  ; 
but  what  could  be  more  intolerable  to  any  person  of  decent 
taste,  than  that  a  woman  should  go  and  tell  all  the  world  in 
print,  what  he  does  when  he  comes  home  to  the  society  of  his 
wife  and  children  ?  This  offensive  pandering  to  a  vulgar  curi 
osity  is  one  of  the  most  flagrant  wrongs  which  can  be  commit 
ted  on  its  victims.  A  lady  is  asked  to  a  house  where  a  public 
man  lives  in  private,  and  she  is  noting  down  every  action,  and 
every  trifling  word  he  does  and  says,  in  order  to  sell  her  notes 
to  the  crowd.  Such  persons  ought  to  be  branded  by  society, 
and  rigidly  excluded  from  every  house  where  all  self-respect  is 
not  utterly  lost.  A  guest  has  no  more  right  to  go  and  print 
statements  about  the  way  her  host  kisses  his  wife,  than  she  has 
to  make  off  with  a  silver  spoon  from  the  dining-table.  In  both 
cases  she  commits  a  breach  of  confidence  in  order  to  get 
money.  *****  Lastly,  the  book  is  one  mass  of  egot 
ism.  The  authoress  is  always  giving  us  to  understand  how  de 
lightful  she  is,  and  how  delighted  every  one  is  to  see  her,  &c." 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

Place  of  nativity ;  Death  of  a  sister ; .  The  old  home 19 

LETTER  II. 
My  parents ;  Sketch  of  the  life  of  Jonathan  E.  Miles 23 

LETTER  III. 

School-days;  Our  foremothers;  Mrs.  Sanford's  letter;  Pioneer 
life  in  Jeflerson  County;  My  father's  library;  Periodicals; 
Parley's  Magazine ;  Death  of  Peter  Parley 29 

LETTER  IV. 

My  father's  general  character ;  Love  of  books ;  of  order ;  His 
farm ;  His  garden ;  Love  of  flowers ;  Religious  feelings ; 
View  of  death;  Marriages;  My  mother's  maiden  name; 
Their  burial  place;  Death  of  my  second  sister;  Extract  from 
Dr.  Franklin's  letter  to  his  neice;  Eccentricities;  Joking 
propensity;  Extracts  from  his  letters,  illustrative  of  it; 
Extracts  from  letters  of  travel;  Obituary  notice  by  Rev. 
E.  W.Reynolds 37 

LETTER  V. 

My  mother;  The  Sheldon  family;  Rev.  Henry  Olcott  Sheldon; 
Silas  Wright;  Life  on  the  farm 50 

LETTER  VI. 

Childhood  and  youth;  Remembrance  of  associates;  Schools; 
School-books;  Miss  Henderson;  Ignorance  of  teachers  of 
physical  laws;  Reform  in  these  respects;  Organic  laws 55 


Xll  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  VII. 

Schools  and  school  days ;  Tyranny  of  school  masters ;  a  descrip 
tion  of  one ;  My  writing  book ;  Natural  happy  life  of  chil 
dren;  Playing  by  the  way;  The  general  current  of  my  life; 
The  death  of  au  infant;  funeral 60 

LETTER  VIII. 

A  great  event;  Marriage  of  my  eldest  sister;  Her  present  place 
cf  residence;  Accident;  The  charms  of  nature;  New  teacher 
for  three  summers;  An  advanced  maiden  lady;  Four  o'clock 
school;  Her  prayer;  Not  according  to  St.  Paul's  directions.  65 

LETTER  IX. 

Youthful  follies;  A  foolish  exhibition:  Rebuke;  Fable  of  the 
lost  axe 70 

LETTER  X. 

Character  of  the  inhabitants  in  my  native  town ;  The  school  dis 
trict  ;  The  school  house ;  Sandy  Creek ;  Scenery  in  its  vicin 
ity;  Captain  Richardson's  orchard;  Mr.  Mantle's  tan- 
yard;  Gliding  and  hand-sleds;  Peculiar  charms  of  Winter; 
Play-grounds ;  Our  little  seminary  of  learning  destroyed  by 
fire ;  Number  of  families  and  teachers  in  that  time-honored 
district;  Temperance  principles;  Gambling;  Amusements; 
Dancing;  School  exhibitions;  Industrious  habits:  Music; 
Change  of  the  world  in  that  respect 74 

LETTER  XI. 

Sent  away  from  home  to  an  Academy ;  Studies  multiply  beyond 
my  capacity;  Compositions;  My  first  one;  A  description  of 
Burville ;  Labor  of  getting  lessons ;  Inefficiency  of  teacher ; 
Anecdote  of  a  clergyman 81 

LETTER  XH. 

Hugh  Miller;  His  schools  and  school-masters ;  My  last  school 
teacher;  The  last  term;  Certificates  of  recommendation; 
School-mates  separate,  never  to  meet  again  on  earth ;  Brook- 
side  Cemetery " 87 

LETTER  Xin. 

Teaching  school ;  Boarding  around;  Examinations  by  the  school 
^committee;  Home  once  in  two  weeks;  My  mother's  cook 
ing;  Connecticut  habits;  Saturday  night;  A  series  of  meet 
ings  ;  Ignorant  ministers ;  Dangerous  heresy ;  Persecution ; 
Mr.  French ;  His  style  of  preaching 91 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  *iii 

LETTER  XIV. 

A  Winter  spent  in  Watertown;  Cotillon  parties;  Black  Band; 
Frivolous  amusements;  More  enjoyment  at  church;  Sewing 
society ;  A  day  spent  solicitating  funds  to  start  with ;  Con 
versation  with  my  companion  on  our  return ;  Correspon 
dence  embracing  a  period  of  twenty  years 97 

LETTER  XV. 

How  our  sewing  society  prospered,  and  what  it  has  accomplished ; 
Church  burned  and  a  new  one  erected  on  its  site;  Family 
school  at  Mr.  Woodruff's;  Extract  from  a  letter  from  my 
brother;  The  Woodruff  house;  Riches  and  poverty;  Hap 
py  families ;  Reminiscence  of  a  poor  widow ;  Faith  in  the 
promises  of  God;  The  most  enduring  riches lil 

LETTER  XVI. 

Extracts  from  my  diary ;  Reflections  on  the  new  year ;  Woman's 
rights ;  The  fable  of  the  monkey ;  Theological  Seminary  at 
Andover;  Men  engaged  in  the  woman's  rights  movement; 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  others ;  The  employment  of  tak 
ing  care  of  children;  Another  view  of  the  subject;  Not  a 
fancy  picture ;  Ignorance  of  financial  affairs  and  mechanical 
trades ;  what  women  have  done  in  the  face  of  these  discour 
aging  circumstances;  Their  meager  compensation;  Idleness 
and  ignorance  of  a  part  of  the  feminine  race,  and  slavery 
of  the  balance ;  The  gospel  sent  to  the  heathen ,  when  there 
is  so  much  barbarism  at  home ;  The  scandal  that  has  been 
heaped  upon  those  who  open  their  mouths  in  defence  of  the 
truth;  St.  Paul's  advice;  Drunkards' wives;  Widows  and 
others  separated  from  their  husbands  not  the  legal  guar 
dians  of  their  own  children ;  A  man  can  will  his  children 
away  from  their  mother:  A  case  in  point  in  Pennsylvania; 
Voluntary  slavery ;  The  sister  of  Kossuth ;  Tyrannical  laws 
with  regard  to  women ;  Laws  in  Germany ;  Extract  from 
Miss  Sedgwick's  letters;  The  war  with  Great  Britain,  of 
1776 ;  Its  cause ;  Justice  Pratt ;  Inconsistency  of  the  present 
system  of  taxation ;  Case  of  theft ;  Improvement  with  respect 
to  the  position  of  women  in  society;  Legislation  of  the 
different  States  in  her  behalf;  Extract  from  a  statute  law  of 
the  State  of  Ohio ;  A  change  from  such  heathenish  laws ; 
Grateful  for  small  favors ;  The  State  of  Vermont  with  re 
gard  to  childless  widows'  property ;  New  York  State  Legis 
lature;  Their  drunken  frolic  at  Blackwell's  Island;  An 
extract  from  Miss  Catharine  Beecher's  "true  remedy  for 
the  wrongs  of  women  ' ' ;  Reasons  why  women  ought  to  vote ; 
All  employments  ought  to  be  open  for  women  and  men  in 
discriminately  ;  Miss  Helena  Maria  Weber 118 

2 


XIV  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XVII. 

A  few  more  "last  words"  on  woman's  rights;  Dr.  Franklin's 
discussion;  First  advocate  of  woman's  rights;  Woman's 
Education ;  The  fable  of  the  cat  and  the  bat ;  Extracts  from 
my  diary:  Pedagogues;  Extract  from  Johnson;  Anecdote 
of  Dr.  Johnson;  A  ball  at  Massey's  hotel  in  honor  of  Jack 
son's  victory  at  New  Orleans;  Valentine's  day;  Vacation 
in  which  I  visit  Ogdensburgh,  Canton  and  Potsdam ;  Dutch 
party;  Washington  Irving's  description  of  one;  Dr.  John 
son's  opinion  of  courtship;  Lecture  on  the  social  destiny  of 
man;  Fourierism;  Elocution;  Birth-day;  School  in  Pa- 
inelia 137 


LETTER 

Village  School:  My  patrons;  Boarding  around;  Conflicting 
advice;  General  remarks  with  regard  to  teaching1;  Nature 
of  children  not  naturally  depraved ;  One  case  of  perverse- 
ness;  Speech  to  scholars;  Perplexities  of  the  business  of 
teaching 146 

LETTER  XIX. 

School  in  Champion;  Copy  of  my  call  to  go  there;  Extracts 
from  my  diary;  City  of  the  dead;  Deer  River  Falls,  Copen 
hagen,  Lewis  County;  Rev.  Mr.  Dutton's  family  of  silk 
worms;  Habits  of  this  insect;  Study  of  the  French  language; 
Marriage  of  Mr.  M. ;  Poor  preaching;  Nature's  book 
always  open;  Dedication;  Mt.  Auburn  Cemetery ;  Hannah 
Adams'  Slonument;  Clouds  in  the  west  at  sunset;  Thanks 
giving  sermon  and  supper;  Fire  alarm;  Baptist  and  Catho 
lic  churches ;  Death  of  President  Harrison ;  A  tea-party 
and  visit  to  Watertown  jail;  Temperance  meeting;  One  of 
my  scholars  drowned  in  Black  River;  Fourth  of  July  cele 
bration;  Temperance  lecture;  Leave  Esq.  S.'s;  Slavery; 
Anecdote  of  Brainard,  the  poet;  Point  Salubrious ;  Cherry 
Island;  A  few  weeks  at  home;  The  last 151 

LETTER    XX. 

Marriage;  Description  of  Dexter;  School-teaching  again  and 
boarders ;  Dexter  and  Sackett's  Harbor 170 

LETTER  XXI. 

Western  New  York;  Wyoming  County;  Portageville  Falls, 
Buffalo;  Tonawanda  and  Cay uga creeks;  Fruit  and  grazing; 
Cowlesville;  Rev.  J.  S.  Flagler;  Dr.  Stoddard;  Rev.  N. 
Stacy ;  Rev.  C.  G.  Persons;  Correspondence 175 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  XV 

LETTER  XXL. 

History  of  a  family;  Modera  Spiritualism;  Correspondence; 
General  reflections  on  Spiritualism ;  Extract  from  Edmond 
H.  Sears'  ' '  Foregleams  of  im  mortality. " 181 

LETTER  XXIII. 

Genesee  County;  Its  fruit;  Orange  County  butter;  General  ap 
pearance  of  this  State  from  Rouse's  Point  to  DunkirK; 
Every-body's  own  country  the  uest,  Skaneateles;  Coopers- 
town ;  Rochester ;  Mount  Hope  Cemetery;  Mount  Hope  Nur 
sery 193 

LETTER  XXIV. 

Boston,  Erie  Co.;  Our  children;  Aland  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey ;  Yankee  anecdote  of  dairying ;  Western  New  York 
as  it  is  and  as  it  was,  in  an  extract  from  Turner's  Pioneeer 
history ;  The  inhabitants  of  860  contrasted  with  those  of 
1800;  Ignorance  of  the  poo,  er  class  in  the  cities,  with  re 
gard  to  the  superior  advantages  of  the  country;  Extracts 
from  Miss  Sedgwick's  lettei-s 198 

LETTER  XXV. 

Parting  with  friends ;  Farm  life  in  Watertown;  Good  farming; 
Castles  in  the  air;  Bookselling;  Parents  obligation  to  chil 
dren 206 

LETTER  XXVI. 

Commence  travelling  and  selling  books ;  First  field  in  Parish- 
ville;  Incidents  in  the  trade ;  Jefferson  County,  Parishville, 
and  Watertown;  Printing  offices  turned  into  cigar  factories  211 

LETTER  XXVII. 

Progress  in  my  business ;  Too  much  labor  for  strength ;  All  my 
labor  in  a  small  compass;  Absurdity  of  the  idea  of  the  book 
trade  ever  being  exhausted ;  Importance  of  parents  keeping 
suitable  books  on  hand  for  children 217 

LETTER  XXVni. 

Gratitude  for  favors;  Kind  treatment  and  liberal  patronage: 
Forbearance  of  creditors ;  Means  of  success  in  selling  val 
uable  books;  American  portrait  gallery;  Livingston's 
Travels ;  Extracts  from  other  books ;  Recollections  of  a  life 
time,  byS.  G.  Goodrich;  Horace  Greeley's  opinion  of  bio 
graphies 222 


XVI  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XXIX. 

Journey    to   Malone,    Hopkinton,    Nicholsville    and  Bangor; 

Franklin  county  fair;  Sketch  of  the  life  of  Sam  Houston.  229 

LFTTER  XXX. 

Journey  to  Westville ;  The  place  and  its  inhabitants ;  Death  of 
Mrs.  Oberia  Mann 236 

LETTER  XXXI. 

Franklin  County;  Rivers,  roads,  and  farming;  Lack  of  fruit; 
Villages;  Moira;  The  northern  part;  Westville;  Fort  Covin- 
ton  and  Bombay;  Indian  reservation;  Hogansburghi  St. 
Regis  Village;  Allen  Lincoln;  Salmon  River;  Bangor;  An 
Incident;  Clinton  County,  &c 239 

LETTER  XXXII. 

Correspondence  of  the  Miles  family;  Letter  first,  Mrs.  Richard- 
eon;  Second,  Mrs.  Lamon;  Third,  Mrs.  Waggoner;  Fourth, 
B.  Miles;  Fifth,  J.  Miles;  Sixth,  P.  Miles;  Seventh,  Mrs. 
Blount;  Eighth,  B.  S.  Miles;  Ninth,  Wm.  Pitt  Miles; 
Tenth, 0.  E.  Miles;  Eleventh,  Mrs.  Lord 247 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

Tfce  Death  Penalty, 283 

Spiritual  Experiences 291 

Essay  on  Temperance  and  Tobacco, 297 

Friendship, 314 

Ingratitude, 316 

Solitude, 319 

Charity  to  the  Poor, 322 

Letter  to  Geo.  V.  Hoyle,  Esq.,  Superintendent  of  Northern  N. 

T.  Railroad, 325 

Dr.  Thomas  Dick's  Letter 337 

Church  Organization, 345 

Christianity, 348 

The  Beauties  of  Nature, 352 

Nature's  Book 358 


SKETCHES  AND  RECOLLECTIONS. 


SKETCHES   AND  RECOLLECTIONS, 


LETTEK  I. 

Place  of  Nativity— Death  of  a  Sister— The  Old  Home. 

MY  DEAR  F: — 

As  the  particular  Geography  and  locality  of  a 
place  where  the  scene  of  the  narrative  is  laid,  are 
considered  by  most  people  as  essential  to  its  interest*, 
I  will  briefly  describe  to  you  the  place  of  my  na 
tivity.  In  the  State  of  New  York,  Jefferson  County, 
there  are  two  ranges  of  hills,  which  pass  obliquely 
through  the  three  towns,  Rodman,  Rutland,  and 
Watertown.  In  the  southern  portion  of  the  last 
named  town,  between  these  two  ranges  of  hills,  is  the 
beautiful  valley  of  Sandy  Creek.  On  a  slight  eleva 
tion,  near  where  this  stream  winds  its  way  to  Lake 
Ontario,  still  stands  the  antiquated  house  which  my 
father  built  about  fifty  years  ago  on  a  farm  of  but  little 
over  one  hundred  acres,  purchased  by  him  in  1801. 


20  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Here  he  lived  and  reared  a  family  of  twelve  chil 
dren,  who  all  arrived  at  mature  age.  Your  humble 
correspondent,  dear  F.,  was  the  seventh  in  this 
family  catalogue,  born  March  29th,  1821.  The 
brown,  time-worn  dwelling,  now  stands  in  nestling 
loneliness  among  moss-garlanded  trees  and  flowering 
shrubs,  a  heart-stirring  memorial  of  decay,  deser 
tion,  and  death,  —  a  death  so  recent,  that  the  fresh 
ness  and  beauty  of  life  still  lingers  within  the  walls, 
in  the  thousand  little  mementos  of  handiwork,  affec 
tion  suggested,  for  the  comfort  of  those  around  her  ; 
in  her  favorite  volumes  of  books,  so  often  read  for 
herself  and  others ;  in  her  flower  garden,  where 
violets,  tulips,  asters,  and  a  nameless  variety  of  roses 
have  been  planted  with  her  own  hands  ;  in  her 
favorite  walks  and  haunts  on  "Poplar  Hill,"  the 
name  she  gave  the  farm  ;  and  above  all,  in  the  nur 
sery  with  her  three  motherless  children,  one,  a  smil 
ing  little  infant,  all  unconscious  of  its  sad  bereave 
ment.  The  beloved  and  favorite  sister,  of  whom  I 
write,  two  years  younger  than  myself,  died  sudden 
ly,  June  1st,  1860.  Her  husband,  Asher  Blount, 
Esq.,  owns  and  occupies  the  old  homestead.  His 
good  taste  and  industry  are  in  constant  requisition, 
planning  and  putting  in  execution  improvements  on 
the  premises.  To  a  stranger's  eye,  there  may  not 
be  anything  remarkable  in  the  beauty  of  the  land 
scape,  in  that  particular  locality,  but  to  me,  no  place 


AXD    RECOLLECTIONS.  21 

I  have  ever  been  in,  is  half  so  beautiful.  The  view 
to  the  northeast,  is  lengthways  of  the  valley,  and 
up  the  creek.  Here,  nature,  always  charming,  must 
have  been  in  one  of  her  happiest  moods,  when,  with 
consummate  skill,  she  molded  those  exquisitely 
formed  slopes,  on  either  side  of  the  valley,  and 
dressed  them  with  the  gayest  hues — a  blending  of 
all  beauties.  The  woodman's  axe  has  been  too  busy 
marring  the  wild  shrubbery  that  formerly  skirted 
the  banks  of  the  creek,  and  now  the  whole  surface 
of  the  ground,  even  to  the  summits  of  the  elevations, 
is  laid  out  in  meadows,  fields  of  grain,  and  orchards, 
interspersed  with  sweet  pastures,  where  flocks  and 
herds  graze.  An  occasional  drooping  elm,  the  most 
beautiful  tree  in  this  country,  still  stands  in  stately 
grandeur  on  the  lowlands.  Fair  dwellings,  built  in 
the  modern  style  of  architecture,  half  hidden  with 
foliage,  spot  the  landscape  here  and  there,  giving 
the  whole  a  picturesque  beauty,  inspiring  to  the 
poetical  imagination.  To  the  west,  the  magnificent 
old  hills  lift  their  haughty  heads,  bounding  the 
horizon  with  their  dark  outlines. 

"  Far,  to  the  east  and  south  there  lay, 
Extended  in  succession  gay, 
Deep  waving  fields  and  pastures  green 
With  gentle  slopes  and  groves  between." 

You  will,  perhaps,  smile,  dear  F.,  at  my  attach 
ment  to  this  little  nook  of  earth  where  I  first  awoke 


22  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

to  consciousness,  but  the  magic  charm  that  there  is 
in  the  word  "  home,"  embracing  all  that  is  beautiful 
and  lovely,  accounts  for  it.  What  is  it  not  worth, 
with  the  rest  and  comfort  it  suggests  to  the  mariner 
on  life's  tempest-tossed  ocean  ?  What  nation  that 
does  not  think  their  own  country,  however  bleak 
and  desolate,  the  best  land  in  the  world  ?  Even  the 
Icelanders  have  a  proverb  to  the  effect  that  theirs  is 
the  best  country  the  sun  shines  upon.  The  Lap 
lander,  fettered  to  his  snowy  deserts,  has  the  same 
feeling.  "  My  heart's  in  the  highlands,"  the  Scotch 
shepherd  sang,  and  my  heart  ardently  echos  the  sen 
timents  of  his  song : 

"  Here  let  no  cold,  unfeeling  stranger  come, 
Where  once  in  youth  we  careless  roved; 
We  fain  would  rest  once  more  in  that  "  old  home," 
And  gaze  on  scenes  we  dearly  loved." 


LETTER  n. 

My  Parents  —  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Jonathan  E.  Miles. 

MY  DEAR  F:— 

"  Long,  long  ago,"  full  fifty  years  since,  my 
parents  commenced  life  together,  in  the  place  I  have 
attempted  to  describe  to  you,  with  small  means,  or 
rather,  with  no  means  at  all,  but  health  and  willing 
hands,  and  these  are  better  than  all  the  gold  in  Cali 
fornia,  without  them.  Nearly  forty  years  they  lived 
and  labored  together,  died  beneath  the  same  roof, 
and  now  repose  side  by  side  in  the  beautilful  grounds 
of  "  Brookside  Cemetery."  A  short  sketch  of  the 
life  and  labors  of  the  early  settlers  of  Jefferson 
County,  has  recently  been  furnished  the  columns  of 
the  N.  Y.  Reformer,  a  temperance  paper,  published 
in  Watertown.  The  sketches  are  furnished  by  Solon 
Massey,  Esq.  From  this  paper  I  quote  the  sketch 
of  my  father's  life,  which  will  give  you  a  far  better 
idea  of  the  state  of  the  country  at  that  period  than 
anything  I  can  furnish. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS  : — I  had  not  intended  writing 
the  history  of  any  man  who  is  now  living,  however, 
much  material  may  have  accumulated  on  my  hands, 


24  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

and,  however  much  the  facts  and  incidents  connected 
with  his  history  may  have  interested  my  own  mind. 

Yet,  notwithstanding,  I  natter  myself,  I  wish 
nothing  in  looking  for  absolution  at  the  hands  of  the 
living  subject  whom  I  have  chosen  for  this  sketch, 
as  well  as  from  your  readers,  if  I  depart  from  my 
rule  in  a  single  instance,  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
what  kind  of  young  men  they  were,  who  shouldered 
their  knapsacks  in  New  England,  and  pushed  their 
fortunes  in  these  frontier  settlements,  in  the  first 
year  of  the  present  century. 

I  am  the  more  willing  to  undertake  this  life  pic 
ture,  because  the  dates  and  figures  were  furnished 
by  himself,  in  answer  to  my  call  published  in  a 
recent  number  of  your  paper.  In  fact,  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  "  warp  and  woof"  of  the  article  is 
his  sentiment  and  language,  fitted  to  read  in  the 
third  person,  instead  of  the  first,  so  as  to  be  made 
to  correspond  with  the  series  which  I  am  preparing 
to  write. 

r  Mr.  Jonathan  E.  Miles,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  among  the  spruce  woods  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  in  June,  1782.  His  parents  had  a  numerous 
family,  and  like  most  of  the  people  of  the  eastern 
States,  they  were  under  the  necessity  of  practising 
the  most  rigid  economy,  and  of  requiring  every 
member  of  the  family  to  contribute  to  the  general 
stock  by  habits  of  industry. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  obtained  the  consent 
of  his  parents  to  strike  out  in  the  world  on  his  own 
account,  and  seek  for  himself  such  a  fortune  as  might 
result  from  unaided  efforts  —  with  a  kind  expecta 
tion,  however,  that  he  would  not  venture  much 
beyond  the  atmosphere  of  his  native  mountains,  if, 
indeed,  he  lost  sight  of  the  smoke  of  the  old  familiar 
chimney.  But,  having  in  possession  some  ten  dol- 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS.  "    25 

lars  in  cash,  the  avails  of  a  "  clearing  out  sale  "  of 
muskrat  and  mink  skins  — 4which  were  the  result  of 
his  skill  in  trapping  for  those  animals  —  he  formed 
the  resolution,  as  expressed  by  language  at  the  time, 
of  "  seeing  how  large  the  world  was,"  or  at  least  of 
ascertaining  "  where  the  sun  went  down."  With 
something  of  this  kind  in  view  he  set  his  face  to  the 
west,  and  went  steadily  and  courageously  on,  day 
by  day,  crossing  the  "  Granite  State  "  to  the  Con 
necticut  River,  below  Dartmouth  College,  and  then, 
nothing  daunted,  right  across  the  "  Green  Mountain 
State,"  and  down  its  western  slope  to  "  York  State," 
and  so  on  by  the  way  of  Albany  and  Schenectady, 
up  the  Mohawk  river  to  White  stown. 

Not  finding  the  "jumping  off  place,"  yet,  neither 
the  place  "  where  the  sun  went  down,"  thougjh 
nearly  out  of  money,  he  made  arrangements  to 
work  the  balance  of  the  season  at  wages,  with  a 
view  of  replenishing  his  purse  for  another  tramp 
westward. 

But,  about  this  time  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
eleven  original  townships  comprising  the  Black 
River  tract  south  of  that  river,  were  opened  and 
offered  for  sale,  and  emigrants  were  flocking  in  and 
making  purchases.  The  accounts  given  of  the 
beauty  of  the  country  were  such  as  to  interest  a 
mind  like  young  Miles',  and  he  forthwith  sought 
and  obtained  the  approbation  of  his  employer,  in 
the  resolution  he  had  formed,  to  push  his  way  at 
once  again  towards  the  "  setting  sun." 

By  the  advice  of  this  kind  employer,  he  now  set 
himself  about  an  equipment,  in  the  shape  of  apple- 
seeds,  for  a  large  apple  nursery,  as  soon  as  he  could 
find  the  beau  ideal  of  his  ambitious  day  dreams. 
Leaving  Whitestown,  with  his  knapsack  on  his  back 
containing  apple-seeds,  and  a  fair  supply  of  pro- 
3 


26  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

visions,  together  with  a  somewhat  scanty  wardrobe, 
and  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder,  he  put  his  face  to 
wards  the  "  setting  sun "  again,  and  proceeded  to 
Fort  Stenwix,  (Koine).  Soon  after  leaving  Rome, 
he  entered  a  dense  and  tangled  forest,  and  following 
a  rough  road  which  led  to  Turin,  on  the  Black  River, 
where  there  were  a  few  settlers,  he  passed  on 
through  Martinsburg,  which  was  entirely  unin 
habited,  toLowville,  which  was  called  the  "eleventh 
town,"  where  there  were  a  good  many  families. 
On  the  eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  townships,  not  a 
human  face  or  habitation  was  to  be  seen.  He  saw 
but  one  family  in  the  fifth  township,  (Denmark), 
two  families,  Hubbard's  and  Harris's,  on  the  fourth 
(Champion)  ;  two,  Keyes'  and  Millers'  on  the  third, 
(Jutland),  near  the  pond.  From  here  the  road 
was  so  indistinct  and  difficult  to  follow  to  the  resi 
dence  of  Johnson  and  Andrew  Howk,  in  the  present 
Col.  Hungerford  neighborhood,  that  he  lost  his  way 
and  did  not  find  their  clearings,  which,  so  far  as  he 
had  any  purpose,  was  to  have  been  the  end  of  his 
journeyings,  for  the  present. 

Passing  on,  he  went  to  Dry  Hill,  and  not  finding 
inhabitants  or  any  clue  to  the  Howks',  he  began  to 
feel  in  a  hurry,  and  urge  "  shank's  mare  "  into  her 
fastest  gait,  lest,  peradventure,  his  camp  might  have 
to  be  made  in  the  woods,  with  no  "  accommoda 
tions  for  man  or  beast."  For  his  dinner,  he  shot  a 
partridge,  and  striking  a  fire,  he  dressed  and  cooked 
it,  after  which  he  renewed  his  search,  and  finally, 
along  towards  night,  discovered  a  smoke  ahead, 
which  proved  to  issue  from  the  shanty  of  Eliphalet 
Edmonds,  on  Sandy  Creek,  in  the  town  of  Adams, 
which  he  was  occupying  with  a  little  daughter, 
long  enough  to  clear  four  acres  of  land  and  sow  it 
to  wheat.  They  were  just  ready  to  return  to  their 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  27 

eastern  home,  having  expended  their  provisions 
except  a  salmon  or  two,  caught  in  Sandy  Creek, 
and  a  little  unleavened  bread.  They  gave  him  par 
ticular  directions  how  to  make  bread  of  the  kind, 
which  is  here  transcribed  for  the  benefit  of  others, 
who  may,  at  any  time  be  similarly  situated,  viz  : 
"  Take  of  wheat  flour,  and  '  Adam's  ale,'  in  due 
proportion,  and  bake  on  a  chip  before  the  fire  !  " 

Leaving  these  hospitable  quarters  next  morning, 
he  retraced  his  steps,  and  found  the  clearings  of 
the  Messrs.  Howk,  without  much  difficulty.  Mr. 
J.  Howk  furnished  land  and  assisted  in  sowing  the 
apple  seeds,  and  he  soon  began  to  feel  like  having 
an  investment  on  his'  own  account,  which  might 
prove  the  germ  of  a  fortune  in  the*  future.  He 
was  not  disappointed  in  his  hopes,  for  the  trees 
grew  apace,  and  in  due  time  were  sought  for,  far 
and  near,  by  those  who  would  "  take  time  by  the 
forelock,"  in  cultivating  fruit  for  their  new  homes. 
Mr.  Hart  Massey  purchased  sixty  trees  from  that 
nursery,  and  planted  them  opposite  the  site  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  in  this  village,  on  the  lots 
which  are  now  occupied  by  R.  E.  Hungerford,  D. 
D.  Otis,  Joseph  Mullin,  and  Howell  Cooper. 

Mr.  Miles  purchased  the  farm  he  has  lived  on  so 
long,  in  1801.  That  was  fifty-seven  years  ago.  We 
have  seen  how  much  of  a  wilderness  this  entire 
country  was  at  the  date  of  our  journeyings.  That 
wilderness  has  all  disappeared  with  the  inhabitants 
whose  energies  were  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  chang 
ing  it  into  the  beautiful  farms  which  now  greet  the 
eye  ;  and  we  can  hardly  realize  how  there  could 
have  been  a  time  within  the  memory  of  Mr.  Miles, 
when  a  residence  in  the  Col.  Hungerford  neighbor 
hood  could  not  be  hunted  out,  by  a  description 
given  by  such  a  man  as  Judge  Keyes,  to  a  keen, 


28  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

hawk-eyed  lad,  like  the  hero  of  our  story.  John 
son  Howk's  land  was  the  farm  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  Truman  Hungerford,  near  Burville. 
At  that  time  there  were  only  six  families  in  this 
town,  viz ;  Henry  Caffen,  Zachariah  Butterfield, 
Aaron  Bacon,  (whose  son-in-law  was  the  first  male 
child  born  in  the  town),  Johnson  and  Andrew 
Howk,  and  Dea.  Oliver  Bartholomew. 

In  looking  over  the  town  at  this  date,  (August, 
1858),  it  is  believed  that  beside  himself,  there  re 
mains  of  the  population  of  1800,  but  two  persons 
now  living,  viz :  Benjamin  Woodruff,  and  Mrs. 
John  Wilcox  —  unless  it  may  be  that  Asaph  Mat 
thew's  son  was  then  here.  Mrs.  Wilcox  was  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  aforesaid  Johnson  Howk, 
and  Mr.  Woodruff  is  the  genial  old  gentleman  who 
has  survived  almost  his  entire  generation,  but  who 
still  enjoys  life  on  the  premises  where  he  has  acted 
his  part  for  more  than  fifty-seven  years,  on  one  of 
the  slopes  surrounding  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Gotham  Valley,"  in  Watertown.  A  link  in  the 
chain. 


LETTER  in. 

School  days — Our  Foremothers  —  Mrs.  Sanford's  Letter  —  Pioneer 
Life  in  JeSerson  County  —  My  father's  Library  —  Periodicals  — 
Parley's  Magazine  —  Death  of  Peter  Parley. 

MY  DEAR  F:— 

Few  parents  have  labored  more  assiduously  for  the 
moral  and  intellectual  improvement  of  their  child 
ren  than  ours  did.  No  pains  were  spared  to  give 
us  all  a  good  common  school  education,  and  after 
we  arrived  at  suitable  age,  were  all  sent  away  from 
home  to  some  academy  or  high  school.  Of  the 
places  in  which  were  schools  which  my  father 
patronized,  I  remember  the  following :  Albany, 
Buffalo,  Belleville,  Canton,  Clinton,  Potsdam,  Rod 
man,  and  Watertown.  If  we  have  been  unsuccess 
ful  in  our  efforts  to  get  a  decent  knowledge  of  books 
then  in  use,  surely  lack  of  parental  exertion  and 
instruction  has  not  been  the  reason,  for  both  have 
been  untiringly  applied  for  our  mental  improvement. 
From  my  earliest  remembrance,  school-books,  and 
others  amusing  and  interesting  to  children,  have 
3* 


30  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

been  purchased  and  placed  in  our  hands  by  our 
parents.  Besides  our  regular  school  which  we 
attended  Summer  and  Winter  with  scarcely  a  miss 
ing  day,  we  spent  many  of  our  Winter  evenings, 
with  slate  and  arithmetic  at  home ;  or  a  spelling 
class  was  formed  with  six  or  seven  of  us,  with  our 
"  toes  to  a  mark  "  on  the  floor  of  the  spacious  old 
kitchen  —  which  was  also  the  sitting-room  for  the 
family — with  either  father  or  an  older  sister  to  pro 
nounce  words.  The  "  finale  "  of  the  evening's  per 
formance  would  be  "  spelling  down  ;  "  then,  about 
eight  o'clock  the  younger  children  would  all  retire. 
Ah!  Happy  childhood,  without  a  care  or  fore 
thought  for  the  morrow  !  What  a  blessed  ignorance 
of  the  great  duties  of  life,  and  of  the  future  !  Our 
good  mother  was  the  last  to  retire,  and  midnight 
often  found  her  still  plying  the  everlasting  needle, 
making  or  repairing  our  plain  wardrobe.  With 
what  untiring  effort  and  bodily  labor  she  managed 
to  keep  respectably  clad,  God  only  knows. '  Since  I 
have  had  the-  care  of  a  small  family  it  has  been  the 
wonder  of  wonders  to  me,  how  my  mother  performed 
so  much  labor,  and  lived  as  long  as  she  did.  It 
is  no  marvel  that  her  over-taxed  physical  strength 
gave  way  at  a  little  past  middle  age.  And  yet, 
what  I  have  said  of  her,  is  true  of  hundreds  of 
other  mothers  of  my  acquaintance,  and  many  of 
them  are  in  the  first  settled  families  of  this  very 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  31 

town  (Hopkinton).  O !  that  some  ready  pen 
would  write  one  half  the  labors,  self-sacrifices, 
and  deprivations  of  our  foremothers,  to  go  along 
side  of  the  volumes  that  have  been  written  in  praise 
of  all  these  virtues  of  "  our  forefathers."  One 
would  think  that  all  of  their  duties  were  performed 
for  the  good  of  their  country  alone ;  for  not  one 
word  has  been  immortalized  in  song,  or  written 
about  the  partners  of  their  trials  and  sorrows. 
True,  most  of  the  fathers  in  a  newly  settled  farming 
country,  labor  from  early  morn  until  dusky  eve,  with 
scarcely  an  intermission  for  their  meals  ;  and  then, 
in  the  course  of  the  year,  rainy  days,  Sabbaths,  and 
evenings,  give  them  many  leisure  hours  while  the 
mother  is  at  work.  At  least,  it  was  so  with  my 
father,  and  his  reading  hours  were  as  faithfully 
occupied  as  his  laboring  ones.  Here  I  copy  for 
your  perusal  a  letter  from  a  friend,  showing  her 
trials  of  pioneer  life  in  Jefferson  county. 

Hopkinton. 

$[Y  DEAR  FRIEND  :  I  believe  I  have  told  you 
my  mother  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts ;  my 
father  was  from  the  Green  Mountain  State. 
The  first  three  years  after  their  marriage  they 
lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Green  River,  between 
the  hills,  where  they  could  not  see  the  sun  un 
til  it  was  two  hours  above  the  horizon.  This 
was  about  sixty  years  ago.  Rumors  reached  them 


32  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

of  the  fertility  of  the  Black  River  country  —  of 
its  majestic  forests  and  flowing  streams,  and  above 
all  of  its  level  surface.  They  did  not  need  much 
urging  to  leave  those  hills,  and  take  their  all, 
— household  furniture  and  two  children — on  an  ox- 
sled,  and  thus  they  journeyed  fourteen  days  to  El- 
lisburg,  Jefferson  County.  AVe  stopped  at  my 
grandfather's  a  few  weeks,  while  my  father  cleared 
a  spot  and  built  a  little  cabin,  covering  the  roof  with 
bark,  and  marking  the  trees  as  he  went  for  his  fam 
ily.  Thus  they  commenced  life  in  that  beautiful 
town.  My  father  exchanged  work  with  the  inhab 
itants  of  that  then  sparsely  settled  town,  often  leav 
ing  my  mother  for  days  in  that  cabin  home.  At 
evening,  as  she  went  in  pursuit  of  her  cow,  she  has 
heard  the  howling  of  wolves ;  and  when  she  re 
turned,  she  did  not  dare  enter  her  cabin  until  she 
heard  her  daughter's  voice. 

Time  rolled  on  ;  the  opening  was  enlarged.  The 
soil  was  productive  beyond  their  most  sanguine  ex 
pectations.  Their  cabin  was  enlarged,  and  three 
more  olive  plants  were  added  to  their  number.  But 
mortal  life  has  its  clouds  as  well  as  sunshine.  Dur 
ing  the  war  of  1812,  my  mother's  strength  and  en 
ergy  was  tested  to  the  utmost.  My  father  was  a 
member  of  the  rifle  company,  and  was  summoned  to 
the  garrison  in  Sacket's  Harbor,  where  he  remained 
ten  weeks,  thus  leaving  his  family  in  the  wilder 
ness,  without  a  protector,  or  any  means  of  support 
except  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Mother  and  my 
little  brothers  had  succeeded  in  getting  in  the  crops, 
and  they  were  very  promising,  when  the  cattle  that 
roamed  the  forests  began  their  depredations.  Many 
a  morning  at  dawn  of  day  she  drove  them  from  the 
enclosures,  and  every  article  of  her  clothing  would 
be  saturated  with  dew.  Expecting  soon  to  be  laid 


AND  KECOLLECTIONS.  33 

aside  from  even  this,  she  saddled  a  colt  and  rode  to 
Sacket's  Harbor,  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  through 
the  woods,  over  causeways,  and  across  swamps, 
and  presented  herself  on  horseback  before  the  gate 
of  the  garrison,  and  requested  an  interview  with  the 
chief  officer.  It  being  granted,  she  stated  her  cir 
cumstances  ; — the  crops  being  the  only  dependence 
for  the  support  of  her  family.  A  Green  Mountain 
boy,  six  feet  tall,  stalwart,  and  of  noble  bearing, 
was  not  easily  moved,  but  she  plead  her  cause  with 
such  tearful  eloquence  that  her  boon  was  graciously 
granted.  My  father  obtained  a  furlough  of  absence 
for  two  weeks,  with  the  privilege  of  hiring  some 
one  to  fill  his  place  until  the  crisis  was  passed.  As 
the  shades  of  evening  were  thickening  in  the  forest, 
they  reached  in  safety  their  cabin  home.  My  father 
still  lives  on  that  sweet  spot,  where  the  flowers 
bloom  from  early  spring  until  lingering  autumn. 
The  staif  fell  from  my  mother's  weary  hands  fifteen 
years  ago,  and  she  sleeps  in  the  beautiful  cemetery 
in  sight  of  that  oasis  she  labored  so  hard  to  beautify. 
Yours,  truly, 

H.  E.  B.  SANDFOKD. 

My  father  seldom  went  to  town  to  do  the  family 
trading  for  dry  goods  and  groceries,  without  bring 
ing  home  a  new  book.  In  this  way  he  accumulated 
a  library  of  three  or  four  hundred  volumes,  which 
was  used  by  any  one  of  the  family  at  leisure,  from 
the  eldest,  to  the  youngest, — all  had  free  access  to 
it.  As  one  after  another  of  us  settled  in  homes  of 
our  own,  a  part  of  the  library  was  claimed  and 


34  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

• 

taken  away,  but  new  books  were  added  from  time 
to  time,  so  that  the  large  book-case  was  always  full, 
and  several  hundred  volumes  remained  after  the 
last  one  of  the  children  left  the  paternal  roof. 
Among  the  books,  were  Lewis  and  Clark's  Travels ; 
Kendall's  Santa  Fee  Expedition ;  Humboldt's  Cos 
mos  ;  Lacon,  or  Many  Things  in  Few  Words,  by 
C.  C.  Colton  ;  the  complete  works  of  Thomas  Dick, 
Elegant  Extracts  from  English  authors,  Lives  and 
Portraits  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  and  many  others  of  a  kindred  character  ; 
the  poetical  works  of  Pope,  Milton,  Thomson,  and 
Young ;  Combe  on  the  Constitution  of  Man,  and 
nearly  every  book  published  in  the  Universalist  de 
nomination,  in  their  order  of  publication,  from  the 
Life  of  John  Murray,  down  to  Theodore  Clapp's 
Theological  Views,  and  Pitt  Street  Chapel  Lec 
tures.  Besides  a  number  of  weekly  secular  news 
papers,  among  them  one  agricultural  paper,  that 
came  into  the  house,  my  father  took  the  "Herald  of 
Salvation,"  a  Universalist  paper  published  in  Wa- 
tertown,  through  its  entire  existence,  and  the  "Mag 
azine  and  Advocate,"  published  in  Utica  from  its 
comencement  to  its  completion,  when  it  was  merged 
in  the  "  Christian  Ambassador  ;  "  and  he  took  that 
also  and  read  it  faithfully  until  his  death,  without 
missing  a  number.  The  juvenile  books  were  any 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS.  35 

and  everything  published  from  "  The  House  that 
Jack  Built "  and  "  Goody  two  Shoes,"  up  to  "Mer 
ry's  Museum."  Of  all  the  works  which  were  ob 
tained,  especially  for  children,  there  were  three 
which  were  such  a  feast  to  my  infantile  soul,  that  I 
carry  the  memory  of  them  with  me  still,  and  almost 
every  page  is  indelibly  stamped  on  my  mind^ 
These  were'Eobinson  Crusoe,  ^Esop's  Fables,  and 
Original  Poems,  by  Ann,  and  Jane  Taylor.  Books 
of  this  description  were  as  unsparingly  supplied  us, 
as  school-books  ;  and  in  addition  to  these,  Parley's 
Magazine,  a  juvenile  periodical,  was  taken  for  sev 
eral  successive  years.  This  was  the  best  paper  for 
children,  —  so  decided  by  competent  judges,  —  that 
had  ever  then  been  published.  I  doubt  whether 
one  has  been  sent  out  on  a  mission  to  "  little  folks  " 
since  that  went  out  of  existence,  that  has  filled  its 
place  in  all  respects.  No  writer  of  fiction  has  ever 
more  completely  captivated  the  youthful  minds  of 
the  whole  world  than  has  Peter  Parley,  with  his  sim 
ple  tales  of  truth,  drawn  from  real  life.  Now,  as  I 
write,  (May  15th,  I860,)  a  melancholy  voice  comes 
over  the  telegraphic  wires  announcing  the  death  of 
this  great  and  good  man.  Perhaps  it  would  be  no 
exaggeration  to  say,  that  the  literary  world  has  lost 
one  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  and  most  useful 
members.  His  conversational  and  animated  style  of 
description  of  places  and  things,  at  once  drew  the 


36  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

attention  and  fascinated  the  mind  of  the  young 
reader,  while  his  almost  inexhaustible  fund  of  use 
ful  knowledge,  clothed  in  his  attractive  style, 
blessed  the  world  of  maturer  minds.  Thus,  one  af 
ter  another  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  are  leav 
ing;  hearts  and  homes  desolate  here,  to  commence 

O  ' 

life  in  a  higher  and  better  state  of  existence. 


LETTER  IV. 

My  father's  general  Character  —  Love  of  Books  —  Love  of  Order  — 
His  Farm  —  His  Garden  —  Love  of  Flowers  —  Religious  Feelings 
— View  of  Death  —  Marriages,  &c.,  &c. 

MY  DEAE  F:  — 

By  what  I  have  already  written,  you  must  have 
gained  some  idea  of  the  general  character  of  both 
my  parents  ;  but,  as  little  time  and  space  as  I  have, 
in  which  to  communicate  to  you  my  imperfect 
sketches,  I  am  not  satisfied  to  proceed  without  say 
ing  more  in  detail  of  them. 

If  any  one  trait  of  character  shone  more  con 
spicuously  than  another  in  my  father,  as  I  have  be 
fore  hinted,  it  was  his  love  of  books  ;  and  yet,  his 
daily  labor  was  constant  and  unremitting  the  largest 
share  of  his  life,  until  he  gave  up  the  care  of  his 
business  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years,  twelve  years 
before  his  death,  —  which  occurred  Feb.  1st,  1860. 
He  was  not  one  of  that  class  who  never  find  time  to 
read ;  but  he  read  something  nearly  every  day, — 
and  he  had  a  great  variety  of  reading  at  his  com 
mand,  because  he  would  have  it.  He  considered 
the  cultivation  of  his  mind  just  as  essential  to  his 
well-being,  as  his  daily  bread,  and  exerted  himself 
with  as  much  zeal  to  supply  himself  and  family 

4 


38  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

with  the  one  as  the  other.  Indeed  if  he  had  been 
compelled  to  take  a  choice  between  his  favorite 
books,  and  some  table  luxury,  he  would  have  lost 
no  time  in  deciding  in  favor  of  the  former.  Then  I 
need  scarcely  tell  you  that  he  accumulated  a  fund 
of  general  useful  knowledge  which  would  have 
been  an  enviable  possession  for  many  in  higher 
walks  of  life.  His  love  of  order,  was  another  lead 
ing  characteristic,  and  this  he  had  ample  opportuni 
ty  for  gratifying  on  his  farm.  His  garden,  fences, 
gates,  out-buildings,  ornamental  shade  trees,  or 
chard,  and  everything  under  the  immediate  super 
vision  of  his  care,  bore  evidence  of  the  truth  of  it, 
and  it  could  be  discovered  on  his  premises,  by  the 
most  careless  passer  by.  A  row  of  Lombardy  pop 
lar  trees  set  with  precise  definiteness  with  regard  to 
distance  apart,  bordered  the  road  on  each  side  the 
entire  length  of  his  farm,  making  one  hundred  in 
number.  These  grew  to  an  enormous  size,  and 
being  on  an  elevation  commanded  a  view  from  a 
great  distance.  Their  very  appearance  is  a  sure 
guarantee  of  the  hand  that  planted  them  being 
directed  by  a  love  of  order.  His  garden  beds  were 
laid  out  with  the  precision  almost,  of  a  square  and 
compass,  and,  what  is  a  little  remarkable  for  a  far 
mer,  he  had  plenty  of  room  in  it,  for  flowers  for  the 
"  women  folks."  He  spent  a  great  deal  of  time,  by 
odd  spells  in  his  garden,  and  the  flower  beds  were 
guarded  and  hoed  with  as  much  care,  as  cabbages 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  39 

and  potatoes.  If  one  was  small  and  unprotected, 
in  the  start,  he  would  surround  it  with  a  row  of 
sticks,  lest  it  might  be  crushed  by  some  careless 
foot,  and  often  he  would  pluck  a  single  rose,  or 
pink,  and  regale  his  olfactories,  while  walking  in 
the  alleys  to  look  at  and  admire  the  growth  of  ten 
der  plants.  The  last  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
close  study,  and  travelling  for  pleasure  and  social 
enjoyment,  and  when  he  saw  any  plants,  rare  and 
beautiful,  he  would  obtain  seeds,  bulbs  or  slips,  to 
carry  home  to  his  daughters  who  lived  with  him. 
Once,  while  on  a  visit  to  Middletown,  Conn.,  he  saw 
and  admired  a  flowering  almond,  and  procured  it 
root  and  branch  while  in  blossom,  and  carried  it  in 
his  satchel  to  Watertown,  and  it  lived  and  flourished 
admirably.  This  was  after  he  was  seventy-five 
years  of  age.  These  are  trifles,  but  the  whole  of 
life,  and  especially  of  domestic  life  is  made  up  of 
trifles,  and  I  merely  mention  them,  to  give  you  a 
key  to  his  character  in  respect  to  his  being  an  ar 
dent  admirer  of  nature. 

He  was  naturally  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind, 
and  his  faith  and  confidence  in  God,  and  a  future, 
and  more  glorious  state  of  existence  was  almost 
without  parallel.  I  have  heard  him  say  frequently 
that  he  had  no  more  doubt  of  a  future  state  of 
blessedness,  than  he  had  that  the  sun  would  rise 
to-morrow  morning.  He  conversed  with  as  much 


40  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

calmness  and  resignation  about  death,  as  he  would 
retiring  for  a  night's  rest.  To  him  it  was  but  the 
drawing  aside  of  a  veil,  or  the  opening  of  a  door, 
that  had  hidden  from  his  view  the  loved  and  lost  of 
earth.  He  could  freely  respond  in  the  affirmative 
to  Mrs.  Scott's  beautiful  language  : — 

"  Death  is  but 

A  kind  and  gentle  servant  who  unlocks 
With  noiseless  hand,  life's  flower  encircled  door 
To  show  us  those  we  love." 

When  relations  or  other  friends  from  a  distance 
visited  him,  he  would  go  with  them  to  the  Cemetery, 
and  view  the  resting  place  of  his  heart-treasures, 
and  how  often  have  I  seen  him  with  his  cane  point 
out  the  place  which  he  had  selected  for  his  own 
burial.  He  was  married  twice,  first  in  1808,  to  Mary 
Sheldon,  who  died  in  November,  1809,  and  who  left 
an  infant  child ;  and  second,  in  1810,  to  Lucinda 
Sheldon,  who  died  in  May,  1847.  They  were  sisters 
of  Col.  Joseph  Sheldon,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Watertown.  By  his  direction,  a  space  was  left 
between  these  two  graves  for  his  "  narrow  house." 
After  he  was  "  three  score  and  ten"  years  of  age,  he 
spent  a  winter  near  St.  Louis,  with  one  of  his  sons. 
When  he  left  home  for  this  long  journey,  he  gave 
directions  to  have  his  body  returned  to  this  place,  in 
the  event  of  his  being  taken  away  in  a  strange  land. 
His  heart-yearnings  corresponded  with  those  of  the 
Patriarch  Jacob,  when  he  said  :  "  Bury  me  not,  I 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  41 

pray  thee,  in  Egypt ;  but  I  will  be  buried  with  my 
fathers.  And  thou  shalt  carry  me  out  of  Egypt 
and  bury  me  in  their  burying  place."  "  There  they 
buried  Abraham  and  Sarah  his  wife  ;  there  they 
buried  Isaac  and  Rebecca  his  wife ;  and  there  I 
buried  Leah." 

A  good  providence  permitted  him  to  return  in  his 
usual  health,  to  his  old  home,  which  he  enjoyed 
several  years,  and  I  need  not  tell  you,  Dear  F.  that 
his  body  rests  in  the  place  he  selected.  It  is  a  com 
fort  to  dwell  upon  his  cheerful  views  of  death,  and 
I  cannot  give  you  a  better  idea  of  it,  than  in  his  own 
illustration  of  his  feelings  in  a  letter  to  me,  relative 
to  the  death  of  my  sister,  the  eldest  in  the  family, 
by  the  second  marriage.  This  death  occurred  while 
he  was  away  from  home,  at  St.  Louis,  the  time  I 
have  just  spoken  of.  He  wrote :  December  21st, 
1854,  "  It  really  seems  like  a  dream,  that  Susan 
is  dead,  and  I  can  say  nothing  so  appropriate  as  to 
quote  the  words  of  Dr.  Franklin,  on  a  somewhat 
similar  occasion.  '  I  condole  with  you,  we  have 
lost  a  most  dear  and  valuable  relation  for  which 
nothing  earthly  can  make  any  amends,  but  it  is  the 
will  of  Heaven  that  these  bodies  should  be  laid 
aside;  when  we  enter  into  real  life  we  are  spirits. 
That  bodies  should  be  lent  us,  while  they  can  con 
tribute  to  our  happiness,  and  assist  us  in  doing  good 
to  our  fellow  creatures,  is  a  kind  and  benevolent  act 
4* 


42  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

of  God,  and  when  they  become  unfit  for  these  pur 
poses,  it  is  equally  kind,  that  a  way  is  provided,  by 
which  we  may  get  rid  of  them.  Death  is  that  way 
—  a  man  is  not  truly  born  until  he  be  dead  —  and 
why  should  you  and  I  grieve  that  a  new  child  is 
born  among  the  immortals  ;  we  are  all  invited  home 
to  a  grand  party  of  pleasure,  which  is  to  last  for 
ever  ;  her  chair  was  ready  first,  and  she  has 
gone  before  us,  but  we  shall  soon  follow  and  know 
where  to  find  her.' ' 

I  will  not  close  this  brief  and  hurried  sketch,  with 
out  mentioning  some  of  the  eccentricities  of  the 
subject  of  it.  He  was  particularly  fond  of  joking 
and  mirth  at  times,  and  his  own  children  were  as 
apt  to  be  the  victims  as  any  body  else.  His  fund 
of  humorous  anecdotes  and  tales  from  real  life? 
seemed  almost  inexhaustible,  and  his  gift  of  lan 
guage  was  such  that  his  communications  never 
lacked  interest  to  the  hearers.  As  a  specimen 
of  his  manner  of  jesting,  I  will  quote  from  a  letter 
written  in  1849,  when  we  lived  in  Erie  County : 

*  *  *  "  There  is  a  very  malignant  disease 
raging  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  a  consider 
able  number  in  "VYatertown  village  have  fallen 
victims  to  it ;  the  papers  don't  state  whether  they 
died  or  not.  The  disease  is  called  the  '  California 
gold  fever,'  and  its  attacks  have  hitherto  been  upon 
such  as  the  inhabitants  are  willing  to  spare.  When 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  43 

or  where  it  will  cease  is  not  known,  but  it  is  hoped 
it  will  not  continue  lone:." 


•6* 


On  one  occasion  in  my  peregrinations,  selling 
books,  with  a  horse  and  cutter,  he  went  with  me  to 
the  south  part  of  Rodman  —  the  distance  of  ten 
miles  from  his  home  —  to  visit  an  old  friend,  and 
expected  to  return  when  I  did.  I  left  him  at  the 
residence  of  his  friend,  and  went  on  my  business 
with  the  intention  of  returning  in  a  day  or  two  to 
take  him  back.  But  before  I  had  half  accomplished 
the  object  of  my  journey,  the  weather  changed 
rapidly,  and  the  snow  melted  so  fast,  fanned  by  the 
warm  breezes  from  the  South,  that  I  was  compelled 
to  leave  by  the  shortest  route  for  my  own  home,  dis 
tant  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  which  I  reached  in 
safety  in  a  little  over  two  days.  In  about  two  weeks 
I  received  the  following  from  him,  written  on  a  very 
small  piece  of  paper,  in  one  of  his  characteristic 
humorous  veins  : 

"  Watertown,  January  30^,  1859. 

'  I  never  expected  to  live  to  see  '  you  carry  me  off 
to  John  Richardson's,  and  leave  me  there,  but  my 
kind  heart  must  render  good  for  evil,  so  I  have  col 
lected  all  your  debts  in  that  vicinity,  and  herewith  I 
enclose  the  whole  amount ;  but  at  your  own  risk  for 
the  trick  you  served  me.  You  see  I  will  not  waste 
much  paper  in  writing  to  you,  but  you  may  bore  me 
with  as  long  a  letter  as  you  please,  if  you  will  write 
some  time  in  February,  if  not  by  that  time,  I  don't 


44  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

know  that  I  shall  take  it  out  of  the  post  office.  I 
have  just  room  to  tell  you  that  we  are  all  well,  and 
that  snow  is  as  scarce  as  white  crows.  I  enjoyed 
my  visit  well,  and  John  would  not  bring  me  home 
until  I  had  staid  ten  days.  He  took  the  book  you 
left  here,  at  one  dollar — is  that  right?  if  not,  tell 
me  in  your  next,  and  when  you  come  again  bring 
me  another. 

Yours,  affectionately, 

J.  E.  MILES. 

The  above  was  written  one  year  before  his  death, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  The  letter 
which  follows  was  written  in  r(^)ly  to  one  with  re 
gard  to  pecuniary  losses,  which  he  thought  would 
not  prove  in  the  end  as  bad  as  I  imagined. 

July  23<Z,  1856. 

DEAR  DAUGHTER  :  I  have  been  thinking  for  a 
long  time  that  I  would  write  to  you,  but  have  kept 
neglecting  it  until  now ;  and  perhaps  should  have 
put  it  off,  still  longer,  had  I  not  something  special  to 
communicate.  Our  home  is  burned,  cellar  and  all, 
with  their  contents,  and  no  insurance.  Hold !  I 
mistake,  there  was  an  ample  insurance  ;  and  I  mis 
take  again,  for  the  cellar  was  not  burnt ;  and  again 
I  mistake,  for  the  house  stands  just  as  it  was  when 
you  saw  it  last.  You  must  not  put  a  wrong  con 
struction  upon  my  fable,  for  I  acknowledge  you  are 
put  to  some  temporary  inconvenience ;  and  my 
advice  is  :  not  to  think  of  keeping  all  your  land,  but 
to  divide  your  two  lots,  so  as  to  have  a  portion  of  it 
improved,  and  woodland,  and  water  on  each,  and 
reserve  thirty  or  forty  acres  and  build  upon  it ;  or, 


•" 

AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  45 

if  that  is  not  practicable,  sell  the  whole  and  buy  a 
small  place ;  and  in  either  case,  if  we  can  arrange 
the  matter  as  we  have  always  talked,  I  will  give  you 
one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  dollars,  if  it 
is  in  St.  Lawrence  County ;  and  if  the  writings  can 
be  made  out  satisfactorily  this  fall,  or  winter,  I  can 
pay  it  then  as  well  as  ever  ;  my  expenses  at  Albany, 
for  L's.  two  years  at  the  Normal  school  have  been 
about  four  hundred  dollars ;  this,  with  my  little 
Rail  Road  investment,  my  telescope,  and  travelling 
expenses  for  three  years  past,  have  prevented  me 
from  laying  up  much  for  myself,  and  I  am  holden 
for  over  one  thousand  dollars  for  F.  &  J. ;  conse 
quently,  I  am  not  in  independent  circumstances,  and 
you  may  as  well  fix  your  mind  on  the  lowest  sum 
mentioned  above.  I  will  leave  the  news  for  R. 

Yours,  etc. 

As  your  home  is  in  the  West,  dear  F.,  I  will  make 
a  few  extracts  from  letters  my  father  sent  me  rela 
tive  to  his  travels  in  that  direction  : 

St.  Louis,  Dec.,  1854. 

DEAR  DAUGHTER  :  —  As  I  am  in  this  far  off 
country,  it  will  be  doubly  interesting  to  me  to  have 
frequent  letters  from  my  children,  and  you  must  not 
neglect  to  write  to  me  forthwith.  I  presume 
you  are  apprised  of  my  being  in  this  country.  I 
left  Watertown  in  the  cars,  on  the  morning 
of  the  10th  of  October,  and  in  about  forty  hours 
I  found  myself  at  a  place  in  Michigan  where 
they  Paw  twice,  (Paw  Paw).  Having  travelled 
night  and  day,  I  was  quite  fatigued;  and,  after 
taking  a  nap,  I  hired  a  conveyance  to  F.'s,  and  they 
pretended  to  be  very  glad  to  see  me.  I  turned  F. 


46  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

and  his  wife  out  of  bed  and  made  them  sleep  on 
the  floor  for  three  weeks  ;  (for  you  must  know  that 
the  y  have  not  all  of  the  conveniences  of  a  Water- 
town  home,  in  this  new  country), — and  I  occupied 
a  good  bed  near  the  stove. 

From  there  I  went  to  Aurora,  111.,  and  staid  three 
weeks.  I  left  Aurora  the  last  day  of  November, 
for  St.  Louis.  The  cars  left  me  at  Alton,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  way  I  went  by  steamer  on  the 
majestic  Mississippi.  B.  met  me  at  Franklin  Sta 
tion,  about  five  miles  from  his  house,  whither  he  con 
veyed  me  ;  I  found  him  in  as  good  circumstances  as 
any  one  could  wish. 

In  travelling  about  thirteen  hundred  miles,  I 
saw  very  different  countries  in  their  general  aspect. 
Michigan  consists  of  sandy  oak  openings,  and  other 
parts  of  very  dense  forests  of  heavy  timber,  the 
whole  of  a  light,  warm  soil  well  adapted  to  the  cul 
tivation  of  wheat  and  fruit.  Illinois  consists  of  a 
very  fertile  soil,  but  a  great  destitution  of  wood, 
water  and  stone.  In  passing  through  the  State,  you 
see  thousands  on  thousands  of  acres,  and  not  a 
shrub  or  stone,  or  drop  of  water,  but  a  soil  that  is 
fertile  to  the  highest  degree.  I  think,  all  things 
taken  into  consideration,  that  the  difference  in  coun 
tries  is  mostly  imaginary,  making  it  evident  to  me 
that  "  whatever  is,  is  right."  This  part  of  Missouri 
is  covered  with  a  light  growth  of  timber,  mostly 
oak  and  hickory  ;  in  other  parts  of  the  State  there 
are  large  prairies.  The  Pacific  Railroad,  as  it  is 
called,  progresses  rather  slowly ;  there  is  a  great 
lack  of  Yankee  "  go-ahead-ativeness,"  here  ;  but 
the  cars  are  expected  to  run  past  here  by  the  first  of 
January.  The  road  is  partially  worked  to  Jefferson 
city,  ninety  miles  west  of  here.  A  depot  is  in 
building  on  B.'s  land,  eighty  yards  from  his  house  ; 


AND  KECOLLECTIONS.  47 

and  then  he  expects  to  get  rid  of  the  bog-trotters, 
who  are  stealing  everything  they  c^n  lay  hands  on  ; 
they  have  stolen  at  least  eight  or  ten  hogs. 

"  May  13«A,  1855.    1 

Did  you  knuow  the  old  cripple  had  got  home 
again  ?  Such  is  the  fact.  I  left  Missouri  on  the 
12th  of  March,  and  arrived  at  Aurora,  111.,  in  two 
days,  and  staid  with  Mary  until  the  20th.  Staid 
awhile  in  Michigan  and  on  arriving  at  Detroit, 
learned  that  no  steamers  were  there  from  Buffalo, — 
that  harbor,  then  being  closed  by  ice.  Opposite 
Detroit  I  took  the  cars  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Rail 
way,  and  proceeded  fifty  miles  to  Chatham,  where  I 
made  a  digression  of  thirty  miles  by  stage,  and  vis 
ited  John  and  William  Sheldon,  and  their  sister 
Maria  Keyes.  I  then  took  the  cars  again,  and 
while  proceeding  towards  the  Falls,  I  anticipated 
taking  short  breaths  in  crossing  the  Niagara  liiver 
in  a  kind  of  mammoth  bird-cage,  two  hundred  and 
thirty  feet  above  the  boiling  river ;  but  those  panics 
were  all  in  advance.  Trains  cross,  many  times 
every  day  with  perfect  safety  ;  the  track  across  the 
bridge  is  the  truest  and  smoothest  of  any  track  this 
side  of  sundown,  but  the  cars  proceed  at  the  rapid 
speed  of  an  old  woman  on  foot,  and  run  as  smooth 
as  oil,  and  were  your  eyes  shut,  you  would  think 
you  were  stationary." 

June  22d,  1855. 

"  I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  17th 
inst.,  and  I  assure  you  I  appreciate  your  kind  invi 
tation  to  visit  you,  and  I  shall  probably  do  so,  but 
not  at  present.  I  am  laboring  under  four  incurable 
disorders,  two  of  them  are  hip-ail  and  old  age ;  all 


48  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

these  things  make  travelling  rather  fatiguing,  ex 
cept  in  the  cars.  The  weather  here  is  tolerable 
warm,  for  the  first  time  this  season.  We  have  seen 
accounts  of  the  cold  weather — all  over  our  country, 
but  nothing  from  "  swate  Ireland,"  except  what  you 
write." 


These  few  extracts,  will  suffice,  and  I  have  intro 
duced  them  that  you  may  see  with  what  an  unusual 
degree  of  bodily  and  mental  activity  he  was  blessed 
after  he  passed  the  common  age  allotted  to  man. 

I  close  this  sketch,  which  I  regret  not  having 
done  better  justice  to,  with  an  obituary  notice,  writ 
ten  by  the  clergyman  who  officiated  at  his  funeral. 

DIED.— In  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  1st.,  1860, 
Jonathan  E.  Miles,  aged  nearly  78  years.  He  was 
a  man  of  a  superior  order  of  mind  and  of  charac 
ter,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town,  and  one 
of  its  most  veuerated  citizens.  Although  most  of 
his  life  was  devoted  to  severe  manual  labor,  he  found 
time  to  improve  his  mind  by  an  extensive  range  of 
reading,  and  became  especially  interested  in  astro 
nomical  science.  Becoming  familiar  with  the  writ 
ings  of  the  late  Dr.  Dick,  of  Scotland,  he  was  de 
sirous  of  ascertaining  the  religious  opinions  of  that 
philosopher ;  and  it  was  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  in 
quiry  from  him,  that  Dr.  Dick  acknowledged  his 
sympathy  with  the  doctrine  of  Universalism.  This 
correspondence  was  published  in  the  Ambassador 
about  the  time  of  Dr.  Dick's  death.  Having  been 
himself — probably  through  the  whole  period  of  his 
thoughtful  life  —  a  believer  in  Universalism,  Mr. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  49 

Miles  desired  that  some  testimony  to  the  worth  of 
his  faith  might  be  borne  at  his  funeral.  He  had  se 
lected  the  words  of  Paul  found  in  Rom.  xiv.  7,  8 
and  9th  as  a  basis  of  a  discourse  on  the  occasion, 
which  was  preached  accordingly  in  the  Union 
Church  at  Burville,  on  the  3d  of  Feb. 
5 


LETTER  V. 

My  mother — The  Sheldon  family — Rev.  Henry  Olcott  Sheldon— Si 
las  Wright — Life  pn  the  farm. 

MY  DEAR  Er 
in  one  respect  my  mother  was  just  what  you  will 
hear  every  body  else  say  of  their  mother  ;  that  is, 
that  she  was  one  of  the  best  women  in  the  \vorld. 
"Whose  mother  is  not  a  good  woman  to  them  ?  and 
they  cannot  see  her  from  any  other  stand-point. 
Who  that  has  felt  the  beatings  of  a  mother's  heart 
of  love  for  her  children,  cannot  see  why  this  is  ? 
There  is  a  sympathy  there,  which  is  lacking  in  ev 
ery  other  relation  of  life.  Hence,  the  love  of  God 
in  Scripture,  is  compared  to  that  of  a  mother,  for 
this  is  the  nearest  type  of  the  heavenly  ever  at 
tained  on  earth.  "  A  mother  may  forget  a  child, 
yet  will  I  not  forget  thee."  As  I  draw  the  picture 
before  me  of  my  mother,  she  appears  the  very 
angel  of  goodness,  and  the  deity  of  the  household 
over  which  she  presided.  HM-  economy  was  pro- 


PERSONAL    SKETCHES.  51 

verbial,  and  she  had  a  large  share  of  what  Harriet 
Beecher  Stpwe  would  denominate  "  faculty  "  in 
housekeeping.  That  is,  the  art  of  making  a  little 
appear  to  the  best  advantage,  always  conforming  to 
the  circumstances  in  which  she  was  called  to  act. 
Her  devotion  to  her  family  was  paramount  to  ev 
ery  other  earthly  duty  ;  and  her  disposition  was 
cheerful  and  happy  nearly  always.  Her  children 
all  outlived  her ;  some  of  them,  however,  left  home 
to  wander  in  foreign  lands,  and  never  returned  dur 
ing  her  life.  The  thought  of  this  was  her  greatest 
sorrow,  and  the  unerring  conviction  that  with  sev 
eral  of  her  family  she  had  enjoyed  her  last  inter 
view  on  earth,  was  a  bitter  grief.  Her  endless 
round  of  household  duties  contained  nearly  all  the 
variety  she  experienced  in  life.  She  occasionally 
visited  friends  ;  but  they  were  "  like  angel  visits, 
few  and  far  between."  She  was  born  in  Connecti 
cut  in  1791,  and  removed  to  Watertown  with  her 
father's  family,  early  in  the  present  century.  The 
Sheldon  family  is  very  numerous  and  scattered  all 
over  New  England  and  New  York.  Many  of  them 
are  in  Jefferson  and  St.  Lawrence  Counties.  Like 
all  other  families  of  numerous  progeny,  there  is  a 
variety  of  tastes,  intellect,  and  pursuit.  Some  of 
them  have  distinguished  themselves  intellectully, 
and  have  gained  a  brilliant  education,  which  they 
have  turned  to  good  practical  account,  thus  earning 


52  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

for  themselves  a  well-deserved  popularity.  "While 
others,  belonging  to  the  same  circle  of-  family  rela 
tives,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  have  not  common  sense  ; 
and  what  they  do  know,  they  use  to  poor  advan 
tage.  Rev.  Henry  Olcott  Sheldon,  corresponding 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical 
Society,  has  been  engaged  for  several  years,  picking 
up  and  classifying  the  names  of  the  Sheldon  race, 
and  the  branches  of  ^t,  who  have  married  into  other 
families.  The  number  has  already  swelled  to  four 
teen  thousand.  No  wonder  that  there  are  all  sorts, 
among  so  many.  Silas  Wright  belonged  to  the 
family,  and  by  a  reference  to  Rev.  Mr.  Sheldon's 
Genealogical  list,  I  have  learned  that  he  was  the 
seventh  cousin  of  our  family.  Surely  here  is  a  blood 
alliance  worthy  being  proud  of — and  so  near,  too !  ! 
Since  becoming  more  acquainted  with  the  various 
phases  of  life,  I  have  thanked  God,  and  my  parents 
for  the  homely  country  life  in  which  I  was  bred. 
Our  daily  food  was  of  the  plainest  kind,  and  par 
taken  of  at  regular  intervals.  To  this,  together 
with  abundant  exercise  in  the  open  air,  we  are 
probably  indebted  in  a  great  degree  for  our  health. 
Comparatively  few  families  were  blessed,  in  that 
respect,  as  ours  was.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable 
that  so  large  a  family  all  arrived  at  mature  age  ; 
and,  without  an  exception,  with  a  vigorous  physical 
constitution,  capable  of  enduring  an  astonishing 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  53 

amount  of  labor.  On  the  farm,  the  boys  applied 
their  strength  to  good  advantage,  while  the  girls 
were  "  brought  up  "  to  assist  their  mother  in  the 
arduous  duties  of  the  household,  and  taking  care  of 
the  younger  children ;  for  you  must  be  aware,  dear 
F.,  that  in  those  days  it  was  no  stain  on  a  lady's 
gentility  to  be  well  versed  in  the  culinary  art.  Be 
sides  the  example  of  our  parents,  they  labored  hard 
to  instil  into  our  youthful  minds  the  importance  of 
industrious  habits ;  and  they  thought  farming  the  * 
most  ennobling  of  all  occupations,  besides  the  most 
sure  of  success.  Had  it  been  consistent  with  their 
own  feelings,  they  would  have  been  glad  to  make 
farmers  of  all  their  boys  ;  but  fate  ordered  every 
one  of  them  into  a  different  sphere,  thus  verifying 
the  truth  of  Shakspeare's  well  worn  sentiment : 
"  Rough  hew  them  as  we  will,  there  is  a  destiny 
that  shapes  our  ends."  Though  they  have  all 
chosen  a  different  way  of  obtaining  a  livelihood, 
their  farmer  life  and  education  have  not  been  lost. 
5* 


LETTER  VI. 

Chilhood  and  youth— Remembrance  of  Associates — Schools  and 
school  books— Miss  Henderson— Ignorannce  of  teachers  of  phy 
sical  labor — Reform  in  these  respects — Organic  laws. 

MY  DEAR  F: — 

I  have  now  given  you  a  somewhat  disconnected 
outline  of  my  family  lineage.  I  will  Linvite  you  to 
go  with  me  in  imagination  through  the  fleeting 
years,  of  what  is  considered  by  most  people  the 
happiest  peried  of  my  life  —  childhood  and  youth. 
Not  that  my  young  experience  had  anything  start 
ling  or  thrilling  in  it,  or  that  any  useful  or  impor 
tant  lesson  can  be  drawn  from  it,  any  more  than 
from  any  other  common-place,  obscure  individual ; 
but  on  the  principle,  that  there  are  incidents  in  ev 
erybody's  history,  which  may  be  turned  to  profita 
ble  account,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  their 
mistakes  and  follies  mey  be  avoided. 

"  AM  Happy  he,  who  wise  before  too  late, 
Can  dra,w  a  lesson  from  another's  fate." 

These   very  incidents   were   great  to  me,  in   the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  55 

narrow  compass  of  my  little  world  in  which  I  lived 
and  moved.  I  carry  with  me  to  the  present  day,  a 
distinct  remembrance  of  all  the  action  of  the  play 
in  this  great  drama,  and  probably  shall  to  the  close 
.  of  my  life.  Up  to  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  years, 
this  tragic  comedy,  in  all  its  variations,  was  enacted 
with  the  boys  and  girls  who  went  to  the  same 
school,  and  the  "  school  ma'am,"  who  taught  me  to 
read.  One  of  my  teachers  at  this  tender  age, 
whose  name  was  Marcia  Henderson,  appeared  to 
me  an  angel  of  gentleness  and  patience.  Although 
over  thirty  years  have  elapsed,  and  I  have  not  seen 
her  since,  her  form,  size  and  features,  are  as  vividly 
present  in  my  memory,  as  they  were,  when,  with 
untiring  patience,  she  gave  me  my  first  lessons  in 
marking  on  canvas  with  various  colored  silk.  My 
"  sampler  "  was  the  most  splendid  thing  I  had  ever 
seen,  and  the  long  rows  of  letters  and  figures,  and 
flowers,  wrought  in  beautiful  colors,  to  me  had  a 
charming  interest ;  and  when  the  last  line  was  com 
pleted,  which  read  as  follows  :  "  Wrought  by  Eloise 
Miles,  aged  eight  years,"  with  what  a  conscious 
ness  of  pride  and  self-importance  I  made  an  exhibi 
tion  of  my  handiwork  to  every  stranger  who  en 
tered  the  house.  Of  course  they  all  praised  it,  and 
my  happiness  was  complete.  I  have  often  wished 
that  such  trifles  had  the  power  to  make  older  people 
happy  ;  then  we  should  not  be  the  uneasy,  discon- 


56  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

tented,  and  never-satisfied  race  that  we  are.  True, 
our  whole  lives,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  are 

7  O  > 

made  up  of  the  merest  trifles,  and  sometimes  it 
seems  that  the  most  simple  act  of  our  own,  or 
another's,  will  change  the  whole  current  of  our  fu 
ture  fortunes.  Verily,  "  it  is  not  in  man  that  walk- 
eth  to  direct  his  steps." 

My  lessons  in  these  days  were  easily  got  along 
with,  for  Cobb's  Spelling  Book,  and  Juvenile  Read 
er  No  2,  by  the  same  author,  were  my  only  school 
books,  and  one  column  of  words  of  two  syllables, 
and  one  reading  lesson,  made  up  the  list  of  my 
studies  for  half  a  day.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that 
these  were  not  very  faithfully  studied.  The  quiet 
and  oft-repeated  command  of  the  gentle  Miss  Hen 
derson  to  "sit  still,"  lost  its  meaning  with  me.  In 
deed  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  obey,  and  since  I 
have  arrived  at  mature  age  I  look  back  with  aston 
ishment  and  regret  at  the  ignorance  of  the  teachers 
of  those  days  of  Physiology  and  all  physical  laws ; 
for  what  but  ignorance  could  have  found  in  their 
hearts  a  necessity  to  imprison  little  folks,  in  a  small 
close  room,  sitting  in  one  position  on  a  hard  narrow 
board  called  a  seat,  for  six  long  hours  each  day,  and 
that  for  weeks  and  months  together.  No  wonder 
that  half  the  children  born,  die  before  reaching  the 
age  of  ten  years  ;  and  half  of  the  other  half,  are 
cut  down  with  consumption  or  spinal  complaint,  be- 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  57 

fore  they  arrive  at  middle  age.  Even  at  the  pres 
ent  enlightened  .day  and  age  of  the  world,  when 
there  is  far  less  excuse  for  ignorance,  than  when  our 
first  teacher, — yours  and  mine,  dear  F., — were  try 
ing  to  do  their  duty  by  us,  there  is  a  lamentable 
and  criminal  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  health  and 
life.  We  have  some  very  efficient  teachers  of  math 
ematics,  history,  and  the  languages  ;  they  can  solve 
the  most  difficult  problems  in  Euclid,  and  demon 
strate  with  clearness  and  ability  Algebra  and  the 
higher  mathematics ;  but  the  more  useful  problem 
of  "How  to  live,"  they  are  as  ignorant  of  as  they  are 
of  the  cause  of  the  Aurora  Borealis,  or  of  the  mag 
netic  needle  always  pointing  north.  They  have  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  geography  ;  of  the  location  of 
all  the  cities  and  smaller.towns,  and  which  is  the  cap 
ital  of  each  state  ;  but  of  the  location  of  the  internal 
organs  of  their  own  bodies,  the  heart,  liver  and  lungs, 
and  all  that  contributes  to  make  up  the  complicated 
machinery  that  moves  and  acts  in  obedience  to  the 
will,  they  have  never  thought  fit  to  inform  them 
selves.  Of  the  ebb  and  flow,  of  the  tide  in  Boston 
harbor,  they  are  well  posted,  and  know  precisely 
how  many  hours  and  minutes  it  takes  to  advance 
and  recede  ;  but  that  crimson  tide — the  life's  blood, 
which  is  constantly  flowing  through  their  veins — 
some  of  them,  I  fear,  do  not  even  know  it  circulates 
at  all.  I  once  heard  an  anecdote  of  a  young  lady 


58  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

who,  on  reading  an  advertisement  of  a  lecture  on 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  said  she  "  must  go  and 
hear  it,  for  sometimes  she  really  believed  she  was 
troubled  with  that  disease  herself/' 

Let  us  be  thankful  that  a  reform  has  commenced, 
with  both  parents  and  teachers,  in  these  important 
matters  ;  and  that  the  time  has  come,  when  a  know 
ledge  of  the  Organic  Laws  has  become  an  imper 
ative  duty ;  and  that  no  parent  or  teacher  can  be 
said,  in  truth,  to  be  qualified  for  their  responsible 
positions  who  are  ignorant  of  them.  Albeit  the 
most  wise  and  learned  of  them  have  but  just  entered 
the  vestibule  of  the  great  temple  of  knowledge  on 
these  subjects,  it  is  truly  gratifying  to  the  lovers  of 
truth  and  human  progress,  that  they  have  at  last 
come  to  know,  that  every  individual  of  every  dis 
tinct  species  of  animated  nature,  have  their  birth, 
advancement  and  death,  in  strict  obedience  to  laws 
which  have  been  immutably  stamped  upon  them, 
by  the  unerring  hand  of  the  Great  Infinite.  This 
is  the  ground  work  of  all  physiological  facts,  and 
when  the  different  branches  of  it  shall  have  been 
faithfully  studied  in  our  families  and  schools,  we 
shall  no  longer  labor  under  the  mistaken  idea  that 
pain,  sickness  and  death,  come  to  us  by  chance,  or 
that  they  are  sent  arbitrarily,  by  an  offended  God» 
as  a  punishment  for  our  moral  transgressions  ;  but 
that  they  are  a  natural  penalty,  which  is  indissolu- 
bly  wedded  to  a  violation  of  natural  laws. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  59 

Excuse  my  many  digressions,  dear  F.,  for  I  pre 
fer  any  other  subject  than  writing  about  myself. 
Like  the  testimony  of  some  witnesses  we  read  of  in 
courts  of  justice,  there  may  be  much  here  that  is 
wholly  irrelevant,  but  that  is  my  way,  and  you 
have  promised  to  accept  it  as  such. 


LETTER  VII. 

Schools  and  school  days— Tyranny  of  school  masters— A  description 
of  one— My  writing  book— Natural  happy  life  of  children— Play 
ing  by  the  way— The  general  current  of  my  life— The  death  of  an 
infant—  funeral. 

MY  DEAR  F  : — 

In  this  letter,  I  will  make  the  attempt  once  more 
to  tell  you  of  my  schools,  and  school  days,  and 
teachers.  The  latter  were  not  all  like  the  amiable 
Miss  H.,  especially  those  who  ministered  to  our  ed 
ucational  wants  in  the  winter  season.  They  were 
most  of  them  men  of  stern  and  unrelenting  disposi 
tions,  who  seemed  to  think  that  a  free  use  of  the 
ferule  and  blue-beech,  was  the  most  essential  quali 
fication  a  teacher  could  possess  ;  and  from  that  day 
till  the  present,  the  very  word  "  school-master"  sug 
gests  to  my  mind  a  tall,  coarse,  vinegar-visaged, 
masculine  tyrant,  holding  in  his  hand  what  he 
called  a  "  ruler "  from  the  fact  of  its  having  a 

O 

straight  edge  ;  but  it  was  in  reality  a  ruler,  in 
another  and  broader  signification  of  the  term ;  for 
with  it,  and  the  piercing  look  of  his  eye,  he  literally 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  61 

ruled,  as  with  a  rod  of  iron,  an  army  of  boys  and 
girls  numbering  nearly  fifty,  some  of  them  as  tall 
and  large  as  himself.  One  of  these  gentlemen  I 
have  been  describing,  was  my  school-master,  (they 
were  never  called  teachers,)  for  three  successive 
winters,  and  he  still  lives  in  the  vicinity  of  my  na 
tive  place.  For  the  last  few  years  I  have  frequent 
ly  met  him  in  the  streets  of  Watertown, — a  stranger 
to  him  now,  for  I  probably  passed  from  his  memory 
more  than  twenty-five  years  ago  ;  but,  on  the  con 
trary,  he  will  never  be  obliterated  from  mine. 
Many  is  the  time  that  he  has  fastened  his  giant 
hand  around  my  arm,  and  walked  me  out  to  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  for  the  most  trivial  offence. 
Once  it  was  for  the  heinous  crime,  of  not  imitating 
his  copy  in  my  writing-book.  For  this,  he  hauled 
me  over  the  top  of  my  writing  desk ;  then  to  finish 
up  the  punishment,  he  took  my  writing-book  away 
from  me,  and  hid  it  for  two  weeks.  At  the  top  of  a 
large  sheet  of  foolscap,  he  had  written  a  row  of 
straight  marks,  as  regular  and  perpendicular  as  an 
army  of  soldiers,  marching  to  battle.  These  I  tried 
to  imitate,  until  the  large  page  was  half  filled,  then 
little-girl-like,  I  got  tired  of  them  and  commenced 
making  U's.  This  was  only  one,  out  of  scores  of 
times,  he  was  excited  to  wrath  by  my  childish  short 
comings  and  over-acting.  Yet,  he  was  called  one 
of  the  best  of  teachers  for  those  times, — for  you  are 
6 


62  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

aware,  that  in  that  by-gone  day  and  age,  the  school 
and  family,  who  had  their  children  under  the  most 
constant  discipline,  and  constraint,  were  considered 
the  best  governed.  What  a  sad  mistake,  that  the 
natural  joyous -and  happy  freedom  that  characterize 
the  life  of  children,  almost  invariably  should  be  re 
garded  by  those  who,  in  a  measure  hold  their  future 
destinies  in  their  hands,  as  foibles  and  failings,  and 
evidences  of  a  depraved  nature.  Water  will  no 
more  surely  run  down  hill,  than  children  well-treat 
ed  will  incline  to  do  right.  I  know  that  this  is  a 
very  unpopular  doctrine  at  present,  but  no  less  true. 
We  were  absolutely  commanded  not  to  "  play  by 
the  way  "  going  from,  or  coming  to  school.  It  was 
nearly  a  mile  from  my  father's  to  the  school  house, 
and  about  a  quarter  of  that  distance  off  from  what 
was  called  the  "  creek  road."  Being  on  a  slight  el 
evation,  our  residence  overlooked  a  fine  view  of  the 
surrounding  country,  and  nearly  every  house  in  the 
district  was  plain  in  sight  of  ours.  We  knew  about 
when  to  start  from  home,  to  meet  our  companions  at 
the  corner  ;  but  if  we  were  a  little  out  of  time,  any 
of  us,  it  was  no  task  to  wait  for  good  company. 
You  need  not  ask,  dear  F.,  whether  we  were  strict 
ly  obedient  to  all  of  our  teacher's  commands  ;  tell  a 
rose  not  to  waste  its  perfumery  on  the  morning  air, 
or  the  lily  to  change  its  color,  or  the  leopard  his 
spots,  at  the  same  time  you  tell  children  and  lambs 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  63 

"  not  to  play,"  and  the  result  will  be  the  same   in 
every  case. 

The  general  current  of  life  with  me  then  ran 
smoothly  ;  it  left  in  my  memory  but  one  impression, 
as  I  look  back  upon  it  now ;  it  seems  but  one  golden 
river  of  enjoyment,  flowing  amid  green  banks 
strewed  with  perennial  flowers.  True,  a  shade  of 
disappointment  and  sorrow  was  occasionally  thrown 
in  my  way,  but  the  natural  buoyancy  of  my  youth 
ful  spirits,  soon  rose  above  it.  The  death  of  an 
infant,  a  beautiful  little  girl  in  the  neighborhood, 
was  a  great  grief  to  all  the  scholars  ;  school  was  dis 
missed  and  the  funeral  solemnized  in  the  school- 
house.  The  pale  form  of  little  Hetty,  clothed  in 
white,  as  she  lay  in  her  tiny  coffin,  which  was  an 
exact  fit  for  her  frail  body,  wrung  the  bitter  tears 
from  many  older  eyes  than  mine.  The  solemn  face 
of  the  minister,  I  can  never  forget.  He  was  an 
Englishman.  He  took  for  his  text.  "Is  it  well 
with  thee  ?  is  it  well  with  thy  husband  ?  is  it  well 
with  the  child  ?  "  And  she  answered,  "  It  is  well." 
The  child  spoken  of  in  the  text,  was  the  child  of  a 
Shunamitish  woman,  whom  Elisha,  the  prophet  had 
restored  to  life.  The  inquiry,  therefore,  had  no 
reference  whatever  to  the  future  life.  However, 
that  was  the  way  he  applied  it,  and  well  do  I  re 
member  the  drift  of  his  argument.  It  can  be  sum 
med  up  in  a  few  words ;  the  whole  human  family 


64  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

are  by  nature  totally  depraved,  and  had  not  Christ 
suffered  and  died  in  place  of  us  poor  reprobates, 
and  thereby  opened  a  way  for  our  salvation,  all 
would  have  been  forever  lost,  and  this  as  a  penalty 
for  Adam's  sin.  This  lovely  child  had  passed  the 
dark  valley  in  an  innocent  state,  and  would  undoubt 
edly  be  saved.  This  is  the  first  sermon  I  remember 
of  hearing  that  I  could  understand  the  meaning  of 
at  all,  and  the  most  of  that  was  as  dark  as  Hebrew 
to  my  young  mind.  And  what  is  perhaps  more 
singular  still,  I  have  never  been  able  to  comprehend 
the  whole  meaning  of  that  particular  theology. 


LETTER  VIII. 

%• 

A  great  event — Marriage  of  my  eldest  sister — Her  present  place  of 
residence — Accident — The,  charms  of  nature — New  teachers  for 
three  summers,  an  advanced  maiden  lady — Four  o'clock  school — 
Her  prayer — "Not  accowling  to  St.  Paul's  directions. 

MY  DEAK  F : — 

About  the  time  I  was  ten  years  of  age,  a  great 
event  to  me,  happened  in  my  father's  family.  It 
was  the  marriage  of  my  eldest  sister.  I  had  never 
seen  so  many  people  together  in  our  house  before. 
The  pastor  of  the  Universalist  church  at  Watertown, 
Rev.  Pitt  Morse,  was  the  clergyman  who  officiated 
at  the  wedding.  The  ceremony  was  awfully  solemn 
and  impressive,  more  so,  if  possible,  than  at  the 
funeral  mentioned  in  my  last  letter.  The  prayer 
was  lengthy  and  in  words  fitly  chosen,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  appropriate  and  feeling  than  the 
address  to  the  young  and  happy  bride.  The  time 
seems  so  short  to  look  back,  that  it  is  hard  to  realize 
that  she  is  now  fifty-one  years  of  age,  and  has  chil 
dren  and  grand-children  "  arising  to  call  her  bless 
ed."  She  now  resides  in  the  far  West  on  an  Illinois 
6* 


66  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

prairie,  near  the  beautiful  village  of  Aurora,  enjoy 
ing  with  her  husband,  a  competence  of  this  world's 
goods.  Her  life  has  been  one  of  marked  vicissitude, 
her  fortune,  her  home,  and  religious  views  have  all 
changed. 

A  few  days  previous  to  the  wedding,  an  accident 
deprived  me  of  the  use  of»"Eiy  left  foot  for  several 
weeks  ;  it  was  crushed  bf^a  stick  of  timber,  to 


which  a  swing  "was  attached  V?To  be  so  suddenly 
bereft  of  liberty  in  this  delightfijiL  season  of  the  year, 
June,  when  the  ripe  berries  were  scattered  in  rich 
profusion  over  the  fields  ;  to  one  who  was  so  fond  of 
a  frolic  and  race,  was  a  serious  drawback  on  my 
enjoyment,  and  the  imprisonment  was,  if  possible 
more  vexatious  than  the  pain.  Both  together 
caused  me  many  tears  ;  but  "  it  is  a  long  road  that 
has  no  turn  in  it,"  and  the  weary  days  of  my  confine 
ment  to  the  house,  at  length  drew  to  a  close  ;  and 
my  first  walk  in  the  orchard,  which  was  with  falter 
ing  step,  it  seems  to  me  was  the  happiest  day  of  my 
life.  Every  tree,  bird,  and  flower,  were  more 
beautiful  than  ever  before,  and  Nature,  always 
charming  to  my  imagination,  had  put  on  a  new  and 
livelier  dress.  I  will  not  attempt  to  tell  you  how 
happy  I  was  when  I  found  the  free  use  of  my  feet 
again,  and  bounded  as  on  the  air,  to  the  old  school- 

O  7  ' 

house  once  more.  Even  this  dark  cloud  in  my 
young  days,  had  its  "  silver  lining,"  for  I  had  plenty 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  67 

of  books,  and,  in  addition  to  the  old  ones  which 
were  read  with  a  new  relish,  my  little  library  was 
occasionally  replenished  with  a  new  one.  Besides, 
my  good  mother  invented  many  ways  to  keep  my 
spirits  in  a  happy  flow.  Thus  it  is  with  human  life 
all  through  ;  alternate  shadow  and  sunshine,  and 
this  is  true  of  every  being  on  earth,  whether  steeped 
in  poverty,  or  over-burdened  with  wealth. 

Two  or  three  summers  following  the  time  of 
which  I  write,  a  maiden  lady  far  advanced  in  years, 
was  employed  for  our  teacher.  She  was  one  of  the 
most  eccentric  persons  that  ever  took  the  responsi 
bility  of  teaching  youth.  Her  education  was  ex 
cellent  for  a  person  of  her  age  ;  she  must  have  been 
fifty  years  old,  or  over,  but  this  was  one  of  the 
mysteries  we  juveniles  could  never  draw  her  out  on. 
At  any  rate,  her  wig  had  not  a  grey  hair  in  it,  and 
her  false  teeth  were  as  white  as  alabaster.  Besides 
the  six  hours  a  day  which  she  devoted,  as  the  law 
required,  to  the  regular  sohool — which  was  compos 
ed  of  some  twenty-five  very  small  urchins — she  vol 
unteered  her  services  three  more  hours  each  day — 
from  four  o'clock  until  seven,  P.  M. — for  the  benefit 
of  the  larger  girls  and  boys  in  the  district,  whom 
she  taught  arithmetic,  grammar  and  geography. 
This  was  called  the  four  o'clock  school ;  and  it  prov 
ed  a  great  benefit  to  the  scholars  who  were  kept  at 
home  during  the  day  to  work,  but  the  teachers  who 


68  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

are  willing  to  endure  the  confinement  and  fatigue  of 
a  second  school  the  same  day  are  scarce,  and  ought 
to  be  felessed  with  an  iron  constitution  to  endure  it. 
Every  day  was  a  gala- day  with  the  scholars, 
especially  the  girls,  and  it  was  a  wonder  how  the 
old  lady  managed  to  keep  as  straight  a  rein  over  us 
as  she  did.  She  read  the  Scriptures  and  prayed 
every  day  in  school ;  which  was  something  new  for 
that  place,  as  she  was  the  first  teacher  who  had  ever 
practised  it.  Her  prayer  was  always  the  same  ;  and 
was  soon  committed  to  memory  by  the  scholars,  and 
I  copied  it  at  the  time.  As  it  may  interest  you,  I 
here  transcribe  it : 

"  O  !  God,  we  are  frail  mortals  of  the  dust,  not 
worthy  of  Thy  notice.  Wilt  Thou  look  down  in 
mercy  upon  this  little  handful  of  unworthy  beings 
that  are  assembled  under  Thy  name,  and  bless  them. 
Bless  Zion  of  every  sect  and  denomination,  both  saint 
and  sinner,  both  hypocrite  and  unbeliever.  Bless 
the  world  at  large,  and  this  neighborhood  in  particu 
lar.  O  !  God,  forgive  our  sins,  and  put  them  on  the 
horns  of  the  scape-goat,  that  he  may  carry  them 
far  away  into  the  wilderness  of  forgetfulness,  that 
they  may  not  rise  up  in  condemnation  against  us, 
for  we  have  sinned  ever  since  we  were  capable  of 
recollection.  Give  us  every  temporal  blessing,  that 
will  be  for  our  good  and  for  thy  glory,  and  enable 
us  to  possess  every  Christian  virtue ;  and  may  we 
succeed  in  our  endeavors  to  gain  an  accomplished 
and  finished  education.  More  especially,  may  we 
become  acquainted  with  thy  will ;  call  all  thy  wan- 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  69 

dering  children  together,  that  each  one  of  their 
names  may  be  written  in  the  Lamb's '  book  of  life, 
and  lastly  crown  our  whole  lives  with  glory,  -that  we 
may  go  no  more  out  forever,  world  without  end. 
Amen." 

If  all  whom  this  kind  lady's  heart  reached  out 
her  desires  and  prayers  foi*,  are  finally  encircled  in 
the  arms  of  almighty  love,  none  will  be  wholly 
abandoned  and  cast  of.  But  her  prayer  was  not 
exactly  according  to  St.  Paul's  directions,  a  prayer 
of  "  faith,  lifting  up  holy  hands  without  wrath  or 
doubting,"  for  she  was  a  worthy  member  of  the 
close  communion  Baptist  church,  and  a  conscientious 
believer  in  the  endless  perpetuity  of  sin  and  suffering. 


LETTER  IX. 

Fouthful  Follies— A  Foolish  Exhibition— Rebuke — Fable  of  the  lost 
axe. 

MY  DEAR  F  : — 

Had  I  not  promised  in  the  outset,  to  give  you  a 
faithful  record  of  passing  events,  notwithstanding 
my  mistakes  and  follies,  one  little  circumstance  I  am 
about  to  relate,  I  should  pass  over,  not  that  I  imag 
ine  you  will  think  the  part  I  took  in  it  was  evidence 
of  a  malicious  or  unkind  disposition,  but  it  merely 
shows  a  total  disregard  of  better  examples,  and  the 
good  old  Puritan  way  in  which  my  parents  desired 
me  to  walk.  I  have  sometimes  ventured  a  thought, 
though  perhaps  without  reason,  that  the  path  I  was 
required  to  walk  in  was  a  little  too  straight  and  nar 
row,  and  that  "  I  sowed  more  wild  oats  "  in  conse 
quence  of  it  than  I  otherwise  should.  But  to  my 
story. 

While  attending  this  last  school  I  have  mentioned, 
two  neighboring  girls  "  over  the  creek,"  sisters,  my 
sister,  two  years  my  junior,  and  myself,  got  up  a 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  71 

plan  of  mischief,  to  surprise  the  old  lady,  our  teach 
er,  and  the  other  scholars,  which  came  near  being 
taken  a  little  too  serious  for  our  comfort.  We  each 
prepared  a  dress,  from  bonnet  to  shoes,  so  odd  and 
fantastical  that,  to  appear  in  the  same  now,  in  the 
streets  of  Ogdensburgh  some  fourth  of  July  morn 
ing,  would  put  a  whole  army  of  modern  "terribles" 
to  flight.  They  would  imagine  that  some  monster 
had  fallen  from  another  planet,  or  the  ghosts  of  a 
hundred  years  ago,  had  reappeared  on  the  earth. 
Our  bonnets  were  cast-a-ways  of  our  mothers  and 
grandmothers,  long  years  before  we  had  an  exis 
tence,  and  one  would  judge  from  the  length  of  the 
crowns  and  fronts,  that,  if  they  were  constructed 
since  the  flood,  it  must  have  been  a  very  short  time 
since,  and  the  milliners  had  mingled  in  one,  both 
umbrella  and  bonnet.  To  increase  the  size  we  had 
them  trimmed  around  the  edge  with  broad  strips  of 
heavy  cloth  plaited,  and  for  trimming  we  made  long 
bows  of  gay  colored  quality,  and  tinselled  tassels 
from  an  old  military  coat.  Burdock  leaves  and 
sun-flowers  made  into  a  bouquet,  adorned  one  side  of 
each.  Our  other  regalia,  I  will  not  take  time  and 
space  to  describe.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  all  of  our 
garments  were  the  most  antiquated  we  could  find  in 
an  old  closet  in  the  chamber,  which  had  been  the 
receptacle  of  "  old  clothes  "  of  all  descriptions  from 
time  immemorial.  All  that  was  wanted  from  this 


72  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

variety  of  wearing  apparel  was  selected  and  put  in 
requisition,  for  the  occasion.  It  consumed  more 
than  a  week's  time,  of  all  we  could  sly  away  out  of 
sight  of  our  mothers  and  others  who  had  "  no  part 
or  lot  in  the  matter,"  to  make  preparation  for  the 
day  of  our  appearance  in  school.  Our  labors  were 
all  performed  in  our  rooms  above,  with  closed  doors, 
and  when  every  thing  was  ready  for  a  march  on  the 
day  of  exhibition,  the  numerous  articles  of  apparel 
were  carefully  dropped  out  of  the  chamber  window, 
and  borne  away  from  the  house  with  mischievous 
hands.  The  place  had  even  been  selected  before 
hand,  in  which  to  make  our  toilet,  for  we  were 
obliged  to  leave  home  dressed  in  our  usual  gar 
ments,  or  the  object  for  which  we  had  so  incessant 
ly  labored,  would  have  been  suddenly  defeated  by  a 
"  vigilance  committee,"  composed  of  parents,  older 
sisters  and  maiden  aunts.  The  place  of  our  retreat 
was  a  lovely  spot  on  the  bank  of  the  creek,  beneath 
the  overhanging  boughs  of  a  venerable  elm.  The 
shadow  of  this  was  completely  enclosed  with  a 
thicket  of  red-willow,  and  around  these  a  wild 
grape  vine  had  clung  its  tendrils,  and  found  its  way 
by  them  to  the  very  top  of  the  old  tree.  Here,  we 
were  as  effectually  hidden  as  we  would  have  been  in 
a  cave.  A  few  minutes  time  was  sufficient  for  our 
toilet  to  be  completed,  and  we  sallied  forth  across 
meadows  and  fields  to  school.  We  laughed  im- 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  73 

moderately  at  our  own  ridiculous  appearance,  all 
the  way,  but  by  previous  agreement,  we  left  our 
hilarity  at  the  door  of  the  school-room,  and  entered 
with  lengthened  visages  as  though  nothing  had  hap 
pened.  Our  forms  were  so  disfigured  that  neither 
teacher  or  schoolmates  recognized  us  at  first,  but 
the  scene  that  succeeded  is  beyond  description. 
Order  and  quiet  gave  way  for  the  most  uproarious 
noise  and  confusion,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
peace  was  restored,  and  our  lessons  recited.  In  my 
last  letter,  I  have  said  that  the  teacher's  prayer  was 
always  the  same,  but  this  evening  was  an  exception  ; 
it  was  spiced  with  variations  ;  it  was  more  particu 
larly  in  behalf  of  "  erring  and  sinful  young  ladies, 
who  despite  the  better  counsels  of  parents  and 
friends  would  persist  in  travelling  the  broad  road  to 
destruction."  After  school  our  cases  were  reported 
in  due  form  to  head  quarters,  and  the  merited  re 
buke  of  our  parents  kept  us  from  any  more  pranks 
of  that  kind,  during  our  term  of  school  for  that 
summer.  As  was  usual,  in  cases  where  it  took  sev 
eral  busy  bodies  to  get  up  one  piece  of  mischief,  the 
burden  of  the  responsibility,  and  therefore  of  the 
blame,  rested  on  my  poor  head.  Like  the  man  in 
the  fable  of  the  Lost  Axe,  the  other  three  "  little 
innocents "  said  "  you  have  been  rather  unfortu 
nate." 


LETTER  X. 

Character  of  the  inhabitants  in  my  native  town— The  school  dis 
trict — The  school  house — Sandy  Creek — Scenery  in  its  vicinity — 
Captain  Richardson's  orchard — Mr.  Mantle's  tan-yard — Sliding 
and  hand-sleds — Peculiar  charms  of  winter — Play-grounds — Our 
little  seminary  of  learning  destroyed  by  fire — Number  of  families 
and  teachers,  in  that  time-honored  district — Temperance  princi 
ples — Gambling — Amusements — Dancing  —  School  Exhibitions — 
Industrious  Habits — Music — Change  of  the  world  in  that  respect. 

MY  DEAR  F  :— 

I  fear  that  your  patience  is  already  quite  exhaust 
ed  with  these  dull  reminiscences  of  school  days,  but, 
though  I  have  got  through  with  the  details,  I  would 
like  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  general  character  of 
the  inhabitants  in  that  part  of  the  town  of  my  na 
tivity,  and  especially  those  who  made  up  the  school 
district  in  that  quiet  little  valley.  And  the  school 
house,  and  surroundings  I  have  never  told  you 
about,  and  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  will  interest 
you  as  much  as  any  part  of  my  plain  narrative.  It 
was  built  of  stone,  on  a  beautiful  rise  of  ground,  as 
near  as  could  be  the  centre  of  the  district,  for  the 
accommodation  of  all  the  inhabitants  ;  for  these 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  75 

economical  days  it  was  an  expensive  building, 
though  entirely  inferior  to  many  that  have  been 
built  since  in  that  vicinity.  It  was  without  yard  or 
fence  in  front,  and  no  shade  tree  or  ornamental 
shrubs  adorned  its  grounds.  However,  just  across 
the  road,  and  down  at  the  foot  of  the  commanding 
eminence,  on  which  our  little  seminary  of  learning 
stood,  Sandy  Creek  flowed  musically  along,  with  its 
crystal  waters  and  pebbly  bottom.  On  its  banks, 
nature  had  planted  in  rich  profusion,  a  great  variety 
of  trees,  vines,  and  flowering  shrubs,  and  what  was 
more  attractive  still,  wild  fruit  and  nuts  flourished 
there  in  abundance ;  all  of  these  attractions,  togeth 
er  with  the  fish  and  clams,  that  this  stream  was  fa 
mous  for,  made  a  favorite  place  of  resort,  for  both 
boys  and  girls.  On  a  hill  in  rear  of  the  school 
house,  was  Captain  Richardson's  orchard,  but  this 
was  forbidden  ground.  Anywhere  else  within  rea 
sonable  distance,  except  Mr.  Mantle's  tan-yard,  the 
scholars  had  free  range.  The  creek  was  haunted  no 
less  in  summer  than  winter,  on  account  of  the  ice. 
Hand-sleds  were  a  stock  in  trade  that  went  at 
"par  ;  "  and  sliding  down  hill  was  a  luxury  engaged 
in  at  a  fearful  cost  of  torn  garments,  and  bruised 
heads.  Our  dinners  were  devoured  with  a  speed, 
altogether  in  advance  of  Mr.  Graham's  recommend 
ations  in  his  "  Science  of  Living,"  and  then  the 
odious  school  bell  rang  quite  too  soon.  Occasion- 


76  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

ally  we  had  a  teacher,  who  so  far  stooped  from  the 
stiffness  and  dignity  of  the  "  craft  "  in  general,  as  to 
engage  in  our  sports,  of  snow-balling  and  sliding. 
Such  an  one  was  a  general  favorite ;  nor  do  I  be 
lieve  his  familiarity,  detracted  one  iota  from  his  in 
fluence  and  usefulness  in  the  school-room. 

Every  season  of  the  year  has  its  peculiar  charms 
and  winter  is  not  the  least  so,  to  the  young  and 
buoyant  spirit  of  childhood.  Who  has  not  felt  how 
hard  it  is  to  sit  roasting  in  the  bad  air  of  an  unven- 
tilated  school-room,  when  the  beautiful  snow,  with 
its  glittering  diamonds  of  light,  is  carpeting  the 
earth,  and  the  merry  jingle  of  sleigh-bells  as  they 
whirl  past,  break  the  monotonous  silence  ?  Who 
wonders  that  a  dull  book  has  less  charm  than  a  pair 
of  skates,  when  the  streams  are  covered  with  a  coat 
of  glazed  ice  tempting  boys  to  play  the  truant  ? 

In  our  places  of  resort  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
creek  and  hill,  we  found  a  good  substitute  for  play 
grounds  which  every  school  district  ought  to  own  ; 
but  it  is  as  much  as  the  pioneer  inhabitants  of  any 
country  can  do  to  provide  themselves  with  actual 
necessaries,  without  thinking  of  luxury  or  ornament. 
This  old  edifice,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  so 
many  struggles  in  ascending  the  "  hill  of  science," 
was  long  since  destroyed  by  fire,  and  a  more  tasty 
and  modern  one  erected  in  its  stead  in  another  local 
ity.  Without  boasting,  I  think  it  would  be  difficult 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  77 

to  find  a  common  district  school,  from  which  gradu 
ated  more  boys  and  girls,  who  afterwards  went  out 
to  the  world  as  teachers,  than  this  one.     Thirteen 
families  made  up  the  district.   Taking  out  ens  of  these 
who  had  but  one  child,  the  remaining   twelve  fami 
lies  averaged  just  seven  children  each,  who  all  arriv 
ed   at    mature  years.      Over  forty  of  these  were 
school-teachers,  ten  of  them  from  my  father's  family.* 
There  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  commendable  emulation 
existing  among  the  inhabitants,  both  old  and  young 
— a  striving  for   knowledge  of  books,  which  would 
be  an  assurance  in  after-life  of  the   means   of  an 
honest  livelihood.     Of  the  nearly  ninety  boys  and 
girls  who  received  the  rudiments  of  their  education 
in  this  time  honored  building,  with  scarcely  an  ex 
ception  they  have   turned  their  education  to  good 
practical  account  andliettled  honorably  in  life  ;  some 
have  even  attained  an  eminence  in  literature.     Not 
one  has  disgraced  himself  with  the  wine-cup,  for  the 
simple^  reason,  probably,  that  they  all  had  temperate, 
sober  parents,  who  labored  assiduously  for  the  good 
of  those  entrusted  to  their  care,  with  example  as  well 
as  precept.     The  former  is  far  the  most  eloquent  and 

*  By  a  reference  to  the  New  York  State  Gazeteer,  it  will  be  seen 
that,  in  1855  there  were  but  210  teachers  in  the  whole  of  Jefferson 
County,  making  an  average  of  less  than  ten  to  a  town.  I  will  ven 
ture,  the  assertion  that,  any  time  within  ten  years  from  1835,  more 
than  ten  could  have  been  employed  from  that  one  district  alone. 

7* 


78  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

effective  teacher.  Of  what  avail  would  words  and 
advice  have  been  had  those  parents  kept  a  rum-jug 
in  the  closet,  and  daily  quaffed  its  contents  ?  Suppose 
they  had  delivered  three  temperance  lectures  a  day, 
and  as  often  washed  away  the  effects  of  it  with  the 
contents  of  the  bottle.  Their  words  would  have 
fallen  like  the  seed  of  the  sower  in  the  parable  of 
old,  ','  by  the  wayside,"  upon  "  stony  places,"  and 
"  among  thorns."  If  such  words  had  produced  any 
fruit,  it  would  have  been  the  fruit  of  bitter  tears 
and  sighs  over  the  wreck  of  ruined  hopes.  Steady 
employment,  the  great  rectifier  of  almost  all  human 
wrongs  and  outrages,  was  always  at  hand.  Besides 
being  good  thrifty  farmers,  some  had  mechanical 
trades,  which  employed  many  leisure  hours,,  but  none 
found  time  for  tavern-hunting,  though  there  was  one 
kept  in  the  neighborhood  for  the  accommodation  of 
travellers,  for  a  great  many  years.  For  a  lot  of 
neighbors  to  assemble  of  an  evening,  to  tell  "  yarns," 
in  the  bar-room,  was  an  unheard  of  thing.  Of  the 
hundreds  of  legalised  rum-shops  in  this  county,  not 
a  tenth  part  of  them  would  ever  have  occasion  to 
apply  for  a  license  the  second  time,  if  neighborhood 
loungers  would  spend  their  evenings  at  home.  By 
far  the  largest  share  of  these  earthly  pandemoniums 
are  kept  alive  by  the  stray  dimes  of  those  who  live  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  them,  and  idly  spend  their 
time  there.  The  boys  brought  up  in  this  vicinity  had, 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  79 

probably,  all  heard  of  gambling  at  a  great  distance, 
and  among  the  lowest  classes  of  community,  and 
that  was  all,  for  not  even  card-playing  for  amuse 
ment  was  tolerated  there,  for  the  reason,  we  were 
told,  that  there  were  plenty  of  other  amusements, 
more  profitable  and  less  bewitching  in  their  ten 
dency.  You  will  naturally  enquire,  dear  F.,  what 
amusements  were  considered  proper,  and  whether 
our  parents  thought  it  necessary  for  us  to  have  any. 
Parties  were  frequently  get  up  in  the  winter  season, 
and  dancing  was  approved  of  generally  ;  and,  occa 
sionally,  a  large  ball  at  an  hotel  in  a  distant  part  of 
the  town.  These  required  more  time  for  preparation, 
and  no  little  expense,  but  as  they  did  not  occur  but 
two  or  three  times  a  year,  there  was  a  general  turn 
out.  Almost  every  school  in  town  got  up  exhi 
bitions,  in  which  comical  pieces  and  others  were 
spoken  and  read  by  large  boys  and  girls.  Teachers 
and  scholars  from  other  districts  were  invited,  mak 
ing  quite  a  gala-day  which  often  lasted  till  mid-night. 
Time  did  not  hang  as  heavily  with  young  people  in 
those  industrious  days  as  now.  The  music  of  the 
spinning-wheel  occupied  the  leisure  hours  instead  of 
the  piano  ;  and  in  place  of  embroidery,  the  young 
ladies  made  shirts  and  knit  stockings  for  their 
brothers.  Yery  few  had  learned  the  accomplish 
ment  of  music  and  they  were  daughters  of  the 
rich,  living  in  the  large  villages  and  cities.  How 


80  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

the  world  has  changed  in  this  respect,  as  well  as 
many  others!  even  in  the  "back  part  of  this  back 
county  "  of  St.  Lawrence,  as  Judge  James  calls  it, 
almost  every  house  is  adorned  with  musical  instru 
ments,  or  skilful  hands  to  perform  on  them,  or  both. 
In  this  remote  farming  district,  from  my  chamber 
window  I  can  see  seven  houses,  where  there  aye  two 
pianos,  two  dulcimers,  two  violins,  and  a  melodeon ; 
they  are  used  daily,  and  almost  as  common  as  house 
hold  words.  Now,  while  I  write  on  this  beautiful 
moonlight  evening,  the  notes  of  music,  from  a  neigh 
boring  house,  are  wafted  to  my  ears  through  the  open 
window  of  my  room.  Verily  the  world  moves. 


LETTER  XI. 

Sent  away  from  home  to  an  Academy — Studies  multiply  beyond  my 
capacity — Compositions — My  first  one — A  description  of  Burville 
— Labor  of  getting  lessons — Inefficiency  of  teacher — Anecdote  of 
a  clergyman. 

MY  DEAR  F  : — 

The  sunny  dream  of  childhood  passed  with  me 
quite  too  soon,  and  was  succeeded  by  wholly  differ 
ent  scenes  in  the  drama.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  I  was  sent  away  from  home  to  school,  for  the 
first  time.  This  waa  a  female  academy  where  my 
third  sister  was  assistant  teacher,  of  which  I  was  a 
pupil ;  and  no  less  a  subject  of  stern  discipline,  than 
in  the  district  school  and  at  home.  In  addition  to 
my  former  studies,  which  I  thought  quite  enough 
for  one  of  my  age,  I  was  crowded  into  Parker's  Ex 
ercises  in  Composition,  Smellie's  Philosophy,  and 
Day's  Algebra  ;  besides  practising  drawing,  at  least 
one  hour  every  day,  and  writing  a  composition  ev 
ery  week.  I  had  the  liberty  of  a  choice  between 
the  description  of  a  village  or  person,  or  a  letter  to 
a  real  or  imaginary  friend,  or  an  essay  on  a  given 


82  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

subject,  or  a  correct  diary,  but  it  must  be  of  a  cer 
tain  length,  not  shorter  than  a  page  of  foolscap  pa 
per,  and  worst  of  all,  it  must  be  read  in  public  be 
fore  the  assembled  school  of  both  departments. 
Wednesday  of  each  week,  was  the  dread  day  in 
which  these  exercises  took  place,  and  visitors  were 
frequently  present.  Every  other  duty  that  was  re 
quired  of  me,  I  cheerfully  performed  but  reading 
my  own  composition ;  this,  I  invented  every  excuse, 
to  get  rid  of,  for  timidity  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
my  superior  in  age,  ability,  and  experience,  nearly 
deprived  me  of  speech.  My  first  attempt  was  a 
perfect  failure,  and  I  retired  from  the  school-room 
in  tears.  My  sister  finished  reading  the  paper,  and 
to  inspire  me  with  more  confidence  in  future,  she 
and  the  Principal  both  pronounced  it  the  best  com 
position  there  was  read  that  day.  The  subject  of  it 
was  "  A  Description  of  Burville  ;  "  that  being  the 
only  village  which  I  was  sufficiently  acquainted 
with,  to  warrant  an  attempt  at  describing.  As  you 
may  be  somewhat  curious  dear  F.,  to  know  the  mer 
its  of  my  first  trial  in  writing,  for  your  especial 
gratification,  I  copy  it  verbatim  :  "  The  small  vil 
lage,  the  name  of  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
article,  is  situated  in  the  town  of  Watertown,  near 
the  eastern  line,  where  it  joins  Rutland.  It  is  on  a 
branch  of  a  beautiful  stream  of  water  called  Sandy 
Creek.  A  range  of  hills  bounds  the  village  on  the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  83 

t 

east,  which  extend  quite  through  several  towns  join 
ing  Watertown.  Among  these  hills,  a  few  miles 
above  Burville,  this  small  branch  of  the  creek 
rises.  An  abrupt  ledge  of  rocks,  but  a  few  rods 
above  the  village,  where  the  water  falls  naturally, 
with  a  deafening  noise,  is  worthy  the  name  of 
cataract.  When  compared  with  descriptions  we 
have  read  of  Niagara  and  Trenton,  it  dwindles  into 
utter  insignificance,  but  to  one  who  has  never  seen 
any  larger,  there  is  something  really  beautiful  and 
sublime  in  this  precipitous  leap  of  a  clear  sheet 
of  water,  from  the  height  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet.  On  the  high  banks  of  this  waterfall  the  wild 
columbine  and  rose,  grow  from  the  very  seams  of  the 
rocks  ;  thus  is  the  prophecy  of  old  literally  fulfilled, 
"  The  desert  and  the  solitary  place  shall  rejoice,  and 
blossom  as  the  rose."  After  this  play  of  the  water 
over  a  frightful  ledge,  from  which  a  large  share  of 
it  falls  in  separate  drops,  then  flies  back  in  spray, 
floating  on  the  atmosphere,  an  honest  miller  has 
combined  its  force,  for  the  purpose  of  making  it 
work  its  passage  through  a  deep  channel  cut  for 
that  purpose,  and  turn  the  machinery  which  grinds 
out  grain  for  neighboring  farmers.  No  sooner  does 
he  give  it  liberty  than  the  owner  of  a  saw-mill 
makes  it  his  servant  in  manufacturing  boards  from 
large  logs.  After  all  this  excitement  and  labor  it 
winds  tranquilly  and  quietly  along,  through  meadows 


84  PEESONAL  SKETCHES 

% 

and  pleasant  fields,  seeking  its  way  to  the  ocean 
bed.  The  largest  and  most  sightly  building  in  the 
village  is  the  Union  church,  situated  on  a  plat  of 
green  near  the  centre.  Here  three  denominations 
of  Christians  worship  God  according  to  their  own 
system  of  belief.  The  Presbyterian,  who  believes 
that  God  "  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of 
his  own  will ;"  the  Methodist,  who  believes  that  He 
"  wills  that  all  should  turn  from  the  error  of  their 
ways  and  be  saved,"  and  the  Universalist,  who 
believes  both  the  will  and  purpose  of  the  Almighty 
shall  be  accomplished.  Notwithstanding  their 
diversity  of  opinion,  they  have  labored  together 
and  accomplished  the  work  of  erecting  a  neat  and 
commodious  house  of  worship,  which  is  an  ornament 
to  the  place,  and  does  honor  to  their  taste  and  fideli 
ty  in  a  worthy  cause.  A  school  house,  a  dry  goods 
store,  a  hotel,  where  whiskey  is  sold,  a  blacksmith 
shop,  and  about  a  dozen  dwelling  houses,  complete 
the  list  of  all  the  buildings  that  go  to  make  up  the 
village.  It  might  not  be  out  of  place  to  add,  that 
the  surrounding  country  is  a  thrifty  farming  district, 
composed,  mostly,  of  large  families, — a  sober,  tem 
perate  and  industrious  people,  who,  after  the  labors 
of  the  week,  every  Sabbath,  old  and  young  put  on 
their  best  apparel  and  "  go  to  Burville  to  meeting." 
You  may  laugh  as  much  as  you  please,  dear  F., 
at  this  effort,  for  my  anxiety  about  its  appearance  is 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  85 

a  long  way  in  the  past,  but  this  same  document  cost 
me  a  great  many  hours  hard  labor.     The  getting  of 
my  lessons  during  this  whole  term  of  six  months, 
subjected  me  to  severe  labor,  from  the  fact  that  some 
of  them  were  wholly  beyond  my  capacity  to  under 
stand.     From  that  day  till  the  present  I  have  had  a 
perfect  horror  of  Algebra,  and  if  the  truth  must  be 
told,  my  heart   never  was  very  deeply  engaged  in 
the  study  of    mathematics  ;  and,  comparatively,    a 
small  amount  of  knowledge  of  that  science  found  a 
place  in  my  heart.     This  is  not  true  of  a  large  ma 
jority  of  my  father's  family,  for  many  of  them  ex 
celled  in  that  branch  of  education.     I  will  here  say 
to  you,  dear   F.,  and  run  the  risk  of  her  eye   scan 
ning  these  pages,  that  our  Principal  in  the  academy, 
was  as  much  in  advance  of  her  appropriate  sphere 
as  some  of  her  pupils  ;  and  as  it  is  impossible  for  any 
one  to  impart   to  others,  what  he  does  not  possess, 
she  failed  to  enlighten  us  on  many  subjects  which 
we  might  have  comprehended,  had  the  information 
been  communicated  in  an  easy  and  familiar  manner. 
The  faculty  to  impart  to  others  what  one  knows  of 
books,  is  the  great  secret  of  success  with  teachers, 
more  than  their  extensive  knowledge ;  but  a  lack  in 
that  direction,  and  the  ability  to  instruct,  too,  ought 
to  be  sufficient  reasons  to  keep  a  person  from  occu 
pying  that   responsible  station.      I  once  heard  an 


86 


PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 


elderly  clergyman  say  of  a  young  man  who  had 
tried  several  times  to  preach  without  success,  that 
there  were  two  reasons  why  he  would  never  succeed 
as  a  preacher.  First,  he  had  a  poor  delivery,  and 
second,  nothing  to  deliver. 


LETTEE  XII. 

Hugh  Miller— His  schools  and  school-masters— My  last  school-teach 
er — The  last  term— Certificates  of  recommendation — School-mates 
separate,  never  to  meet  again  on  earth — Brookside  Cemetery. 

MY  DEAR  F  :— 

The  great  Hugh  Miller,  wrote  a  whole  large  book 
about  his  schools  and  school-masters ;  but  I  suppose 
the  school-room  he  got  most  of  his  knowledge  in, 
was  the  broad  world,  and  his  school-masters,  the 
rocks  and  hills,  commencing  with  those  in  the  vicini 
ty  of  his  native  place.  His  deep  researches  into  the 
intricacies  of  geological  science,  deprived  him  of  his 
reason  in  the  morning  of  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
useful  career  he  fell  into  the  grave  of  a  suicide.  I 
acknowledge  there  is  a  (slight)  disparity  in  the  im 
portance  of  the  subjects  which  he  brought  before 
the  world  and  what  I  have  been  attempting  to  tell 
you  about,  — "  my  schools  and  school-masters  ;  " 
but,  again  there  Is  one  particular  at  least,  in  which 
my  book  will  resemble  the  one  in  question,  the  large 
space  I  have  occupied  with  that  one  subject ;  and 
yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem  to  you,  I  have  not  quite 


88  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

finished  it.  Until  I  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  I 
was  kept  constantly  in  school,  winters ;  and  from 
the  time  I  have  told  you  of,  I  did  not  have  any 
change  of  teachers,  except,  perhaps,  a  few  months 
instruction  from  my  oldest  brother,  who  taught 
school  ten  years  in  one  place  in  Watertown  village. 
My  last  teacher,  whose  pupil  I  was  three  or  four 
terms  in  the  old  district  school  house,  was  so  differ 
ent  from  any  I  have  described  to  you,  and  in  many 
respects  so  superior,  that  I  cannot  close  this  part  of 
my  subject  without  giving  you  a  sketch  of  him  as  a 
teacher.  His  looks  bore  as  striking  a  contrast  to 
one  I  have  spoken  to  you  of  in  a  former  letter,  as 
his  manner  of  teaching.  He  was  the  very  quintes 
sence  of  mildness  and  amiability ;  and  his  full  black 
eyes  never  beamed  on  his  pupils  but  in  kindness. 
His  explanations,  in  all  the  branches  which  he 
taught,  were  plainly  given,  and  with  that  patience 
and  fidelity  which  endeared  him  to  both  patrons, 
and  his  charge.  From  that  unnecessary  talk  which 
many  teachers  employ  their  time  with,  he  was 
wholly  free  ;  he  never  spoke  in  school  but  for  some 
purpose,  and  that  with  a  great  deal  of  dignity  and 
precision  ;  the  interest  he  took  in  the  advancement 
of  those  entrusted  to  his  care,  aroused  in  them  a 
corresponding  interest  for  themselves,  and  the  largest 
share  of  them  had  arrived  at  that  age,  to  realize  the 
importance  of  close  application.  Besides,  with 


AXD   RECOLLECTIONS.  89 

many  of  them,  this  was  their  last  opportunity  of 
attending  school,  and  their  services  were  either  re 
quired  at  home,  or  they  immediately  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  teachers  themselves,  for  which  many 
of  them  became  famous  in  after  years.  To  several 
young  ladies  he  gave  certificates  of  recommendation, 
not  that  he  had  any  legal  authority,  but  because  he 
thought  it  might  be  of  use  to  them  in  their  efforts 

o  O 

to  get  employment  as  teachers.  The  closing  day  of 
the  last  term  of  this  school,  with  many,  was  their 
finishing  stroke  of  school  instruction,  and  they  separ 
ated  with  heavy  hearts,  never  all  to  meet  again  on 
earth.  Our  good  teacher  left  us  in  his  usual  quiet, 
still  way,  with  many  good  wishes  on  both  sides,  and 
those  he  had  labored  so  faithfully  to  instruct,  scat 
tered  in  various  directions,  and  to  pursue  a  diversity 
of  employments.  All  whom  death  has  spared  have 
since  settled  in  homes  of  their  own,  some  in  that 
immediate  neighborhood,  and  many  in  the  wilds  of 
the  far  West.  Of  nearly  one  hundred  who  were 
school-mates  in  that  district,  eighteen  have  passed 
the  river  of  death,  after  arriving  at  mature  years, 
and  nearly  half  of  them  left  families  of  their  own. 
Of  this  number,  all  but  three  have  found  resting 
places  with  their  parents,  in  the  sacred  shade  of  the 
elms  and  willows  which  ornament  the  beautiful 
grounds  of  Brookside  Cemetery,  in  Watertown. 
One,  a  young  lady,  lies  by  the  side  of  strangers  on 


90  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

an  Illinois  prairie ;  and  two  brothers  of  another 
family,  went  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  what  has  been 
truly  called  "  the  land  of  gold  and  of  graves,  "  have 
found  their  last  quiet  sleep,  in  the  glittering  valley 
of  the  far-famed  El-Dorado.  Those  who  are  living, 
are  scattered  all  over  the  United  States,  and  one  in 
Europe.  Not  a  single  family  but  has  been  bereft 
of  one  or  more  of  its  members  by  death,  and  some 
of  them  of  nearly  all.  O  !  dear  F.,  what  melan 
choly  thoughts,  a  rehearsal  of  these  vicissitudes  in 
the  lives  of  those  to  whom  I  am  united  in  the  ties  of 
a  life-long  friendship,  and  still  more  endearing  rela 
tion  of  consanguinity,  suggest!  Their  graves  are 
hallowed  by  sacred  memories  of  other  years,  and 
every  year  adds  to  the  number  of  those  whom  I  have 
grasped  by  the  hand  of  undying  affection  for  the 
last  time.  Every  time  I  visit  that  dear  home  of  my 
childhood,  and  the  silent  tombs  of  the  loved  and 
lost  of  earth,  affection's  hand  has  been  busy  plant 
ing  flowers  upon  some  new  made  grave.  What  but 
an  abiding  faith  in  a  reunion  with  those  who  have 
gone  before  us,  could  sustain  our  spirits  in  the  hour 
of  affliction? 

"  Where  are  the  blossoms  that  bloomed  by  our  side, 
That  opened  their  petals,  to  sunlihgt  so  fair  ? 
They  came  to  our  homes  as  angels  disguised, 
Oh!  how  we  are  longing  to  be  where  they  are." 


LETTER  Xin. 

Teaching  school — Boarding  around — Examinations  by  the  school 
committee— Home  once  in  two  weeks— My  mother's  cooking — Con 
necticut  habits — Saturday  night — A  series  of  meetings — Ignorant 
ministers  —  Dangerous  heresy  —  Persecution — Mr.  French — His 
style  of  preaching. 

MY  DEAR  F  : — 

About  the  time  I  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  I 
commenced  the  employment  of  teaching.  With  the 
exception  of  one  winter,  which  was  the  one  immedi 
ately  following  my  first  term  of  four  and  a  half 
months  in  the  summer  season,  I  followed  the  employ 
ment  steadily  for  three  and  a  half  years.  The  long 
est  vacation  I  had  at  any  one  time  in  this  over  forty 
months  service,  was  four  weeks.  If  my  father's 
means  had  been  ample,  it  would  have  been  far  more 
agreeable  for  me  to  spend  my  time  studying,  but 
the  period  had  arrived  when  it  was  necessary  for  me 
to  earn  my  own  livelihood.  My  first  school  was 
engaged  for  me  in  the  town  of  Rutland,  at  one  dol 
lar  per  week,  and  "  board  around."  For  those  eco 
nomical  times,  that  was  considered  a  liberal  compen 
sation  for  a  "  miss  in  her  teens."  After  I  had  toiled 


92  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

day  after  day,  for  four  and  a  half  months,  through 
rain  and  shine,  sometimes  boarding  over  a  mile  from 
the  school-house,  I  had  earned  eighteen  dollars,  all 
my  own,  not  enough  to  buy  a  country  miss  of  1860, 
a  good  bonnet  and  shawl.  However,  that  was  the 
most  money  I  had  ever  had,  of  my  own,  and  the  only 
cent  I  had  ever  earned  ;  so  it  looked  very  large  to 
me.  The  worst  ordeal  that  I  passed  through  in  my 
new  vocation  was  the  examination  by  the  school 
committee.  One  of  the  trustees  accompanied  me  to 
the  presence  of  the  three  functionaries,  who  were 
to  decide  on  the  merits  of  my  qualifications.  They 
questioned  me  six  hours  without  intermission,  and 
then  pronounced  me  "  competent  in  all  respects  to 
teach  a  common  school  in  that  town  one  year  from 
date.  Signed,  F.  N.  Benedict,  C.  D.  Huntington, 
J.  P.  Dunlap,  May  4th,  1839."  This  was  a  precious 
document,  and  the  hardest  earned  of  any  certificate 
I  ever  got,  and  I  afterwards  obtained  a  county 
license,  which  was  perpetual.  My  school  was  com 
pleted  with  tolerable  success,  for  one  so  young. 
My  sister,  two  years  younger,  taught  in  another 
town,  and  we  frequently  met  at  home  to  talk  over  our 
successes  and  failures.  This  our  good  mother  lis 
tened  to,  with  an  interest  not  appreciated  by  any  but 
mothers.  Generally,  the  times  of  our  meeting  was 
every  alternate  Saturday,  when  our  schools  were 
out  according  to  custom.  Our  parents  greeted  us 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS.  93 

with  a  warm  welcome,  and  as  much  preparation  was 
made  as  though  other  company  was  expected  when 
"  the  girls  "  were  coming  home.  "  My  mother's 
cooking  "  is  the  best,  always,  with  everybody,  and 
with  us,  it  was  partaken  of  with  a  double  relish 
after  an  absence  of  two  weeks.  Saturday  is  a  differ 
ent  day  from  any  other  with  Connecticut  house 
keepers.  The  old  "  blue  laws  "  had  an  influence  on 
them  through  life.  With  my  mother,  it  was  so ; 
the  old  brick  oven  had  to  be  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity,  so  that  nothing  but  what  was  absolutely 
imperative,  would  have  to  be  done  on  the  Sabbath, 
which  commenced  at  sunset  on  Saturday  evening, 
when  all  labor  was  brought  to  a  solemn  pause,  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  of  her  Puritan  ancestors.  Her 
knitting  needles  flew  with  as  much  activity  on  Sun 
day  evening  as  any  one  of  the  week.  Monday 
mornings,  after  spending  two  days  at  home,  I  cheer 
fully  returned  to  my  labor,  though  there  was  but 
one  consideration  that  made  my  situation  among  a 
somewhat  uncongenial  pe  ople,  endurable  ;  the  fact 
of  doing  something  for  myself,  after  all  that  my  pa 
rents  had  expended  trying  to  educate  me.  A  series 
of  meetings  was  held  in  the  school  house,  which 
lasted  Sabbaths  and  evenings  for  several  weeks. 
The  minister  who  conducted  them  was  as  ignorant 
of  the  English  language  as  he  was  of  Scripture ; 
he  murdered  both,  without  the  fear  of  God  or  man. 


94  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

It  was  but  seldom  that  I  went  to  meeting,  which  I 
afterwards  learned  was  a  source  of  some  dissatisfac 
tion  to  my  patrons,  though  they  never  expressed  it 
to  me.  I  had  good  books  with  me,  which  I  preferred 
reading  on  the  Sabbath,  to  listening  to  a  theology, 
which  outraged  reason  and  common  sense.  The 
"  dangerous  heresy,"  in  which  I  had  been  educated 
at  home,  was  well  understood  by  my  patrons ;  and 
though  I  never  voluntarily  expressed  an  opinion  on 
these  grave  subjects,  and  plainly  intimated  to  them 
that  I  had  not  come  to  their  homes  as  a  teacher  of 
religious  doctrines,  when  the  views  which  had  been 
taught  me  from  infancy,  and  seemed  to  me  right, 
were  attacked,  I  acted  according  to  St.  Peter's  direc 
tions,  "  Be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every 
man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in 
you,  with  meekness  and  fear."  I  had  heard  scores 
of  controversies  at  home,  between  my  father  and 
orthodox  ministers,  and  others,  who  took  occasion 
from  time  to  time,  to  visit  him  for  that  express  pur 
pose  ;  and  the  arguments  of  my  revered  parent,  I 
was  perfectly  familiar  with;  but  this  was  the  first 
time  I  had  every  felt  compelled  to  use  them.  In 
this  enlightened  day  and  age  of  religious  toleration, 
when,  to  the  credit  of  humanity  be  it  said,  people 
are  regarded  more  in  the  light  of  their  acts  than 
opinions,  it  is  hard  to  realize  with  what  a  blind  zeal 
the  minds  of  some  Christians  were  deluded,  in  their 


AND  KECOLLECTIONS.  95 

persecutions  of  those  they  deemed  in  error,  no  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

During  my  engagement  in  this  school,  once  in  four 
weeks,  on  the  Sabbath,  I  walked  the  distance  of  two 
miles  to  hear  a  man  by  the  name  of  John  French, 
preach.  This  was  another  stumbling  Block  in  the 
way  of  my  usefulness.  He  was  a  man  well  advanced 
in  years,  and  the  manner  of  his  delivery  peculiar ; 
his  style  of  communicating  his  explanations  of  Scrip 
ture,  was  more  like  familiar  conversations  with  a 
friend,  than  the  usual  mode  of  preaching  ;  and  yet 
what  he  said  was  delivered  with  an  earnestness  that 
carried  conviction  to  the  mind's  of  his  hearers,  that 
his  teachings  had,  at  least,  one  merit,  that  of  sin 
cerity.  With  a  full  realization  of  the  fact,  that  his 
doctrines  were  in  direct  opposition  to  the  traditional 
ones  of  the  times,  he  chose  subjects,  as  boundless 
and  unlimited  as  God's  own  nature,  and  made  them 
appear  plain  in  his  conversational  and  easy  style, 
even  to  children.  By  the  majority  of  community, 
he  was  considered  a  teacher  of  strange  and  objec 
tionable  doctrines,  and  in  that  remote  part  of  the 
heritage  they  could  not  bear  that  Mr.  French  should 
come  out  and  declare  that,  God,  in  mercy,  had  pro 
vided  a  "sovereign  remedy"  for  fallen  man,  and 
that  he  would  eventually  be  restored  from  sin  to  the 
dignity  of  the  divine  nature  and  image  in  which  he 
was  created.  This  was  beyond  the  common  faith  of 


96 


PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 


a  professed  Christian  people,  and  I  have  since 
thought  it  was  no  wonder  they  refused  this  remedy, 
and  did  all  they  could  to  obstruct  the  wheels  of  this 
reformation  in  doctrine,  for  their  minds  were  not 
ready  to  receive  it  without  opposition. 


LETTEE  XIV. 

A  Winter  spent  in  Watertown  —  Cotillon  Parties  —  Black-Band  — 
Frivolous  Amusements — More  Enjoyment  at  Church — Sewing  So 
ciety — A  Day  Spent  Soliciting  Funds  to  start  with — Conversation 
with  my  Companions  on  our  return — Correspondence  Embracing 
a  period  of  Twenty  Years. 

MY  DEAR  F  : — 

After  the  close  of  this  term  of  teaching,  which 
was  with  small  regrets  on  my  part,  and  probably 
with  less  on  that  of  my  patrons,  I  spent  a  few  months 
with  my  sister,  Mrs.  Waggoner,  in  the  village  of 
Watertown.  Here  I  mingled  much  in  the  company 
of  my  young  associates,  and  almost  every  evening 
brought  a  collection  together,  either  in  some  private 
family,  or  at  the  American  hotel,  in  a  dance.  The 
famous  "  Black  Band  "  was  engaged  to  play  for  one 
evening  in  each  week,  and  cotillon  parties  were 
attended  regularly.  These  I  enjoyed  well,  not  for 
any  particular  partiality  I  had  for  dancing,  for  that 
was  always  rather  shallow  amusement  for  me,  but 
for  the  society  of  my  young  companions.  Besides, 

the   staid    and  dignified   Mr.   M. ,  my   former 

9 


98  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

teacher,  was  my  escort.  His  language  on  all  occa 
sions  was  just  as  precise  and  formal,  and  every 
syllable  of  every  word  pronounced  with  a  measured 
accuracy  which  corresponded  with  the  most  rigid 
grammatical  rules,  as  when  he  was  "  teaching  the 
young  idea  how  to  shoot."  In  the  festive  hall,  in 
church,  in  the  school-room  and  street,  the  same 
quiet  unassuming  dignity  characterized  him.  Al 
though  too  much  time  was  spent  in  frivolous  amuse 
ments  during  this  winter,  I  trust  it  was  not  wholly 
without  profit.  I  attended  church  regularly,  and  in 
the  exercises  of  religious  worship,  the  Bible-class 
and  Sabbath  school  I  found  a  more  enduring  enjoy 
ment  and  heartfelt  satisfaction,  than  in  all  the  gay 
and  fashionable  circles  with  which  I  met.  During 
over  two  years  residence  in  this  village,  my  seat  at 
church  was  never  vacant  for  one  half  day.  One 
who  has  no  enjoyment  in  the  exercises  of  religious 
worship,  and  merely  attends  church  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  I  sincerely  pity.  Cold,  indeed,  must  be  that 
heart,  to  which  the  duties  of  the  sanctuary  are  but 
a  useless  form,  and  from  whose  secret  depths  the 
petition  has  not  gone  up  to  the  Father  of  mercies, 
for  the  sanctifying  influence  of  His  good  spirit.  If 
such  an  one  can  be  imagined  to  exist,  how  barren  of 
all  true  enjoyment! 

There  had  never  been  a  sewing  society  connected 
with  our  church,  and  many  doubts    and  misgivings 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  99 

were  expressed,  on  the  part  of  the  older  members, 
with  regard  to  the  feasibility  of  starting  one.  True, 
the  more  cautious  ones  remarked  that,  other 
churches  in  the  village  were  prospering,  and  adding 
much  to  their  permanent  fund,  by  the  little  weekly 
income  of  the  sewing  society ;  "  but  then,"  they 
would  always  add,  "  they  are  more  wealthy  and 
popular,  and  have  an  older  organization  than  we 
have."  In  the  face  of  all  these  discouraging  cir 
cumstances  I  resolved  to  "  try  "  what  could  be  done, 
by  way  of  raising  funds  to  start  with.  A  young 
lady  of  the  choir,  one  with  whom  I  had  enjoyed  an 
intimate  and  pleasant  acquaintance,  offered  to  spend 
one  day  with  me,  calling  on  various  individuals, 
soliciting  aid  to  further  our  laudable  enterprise.  It 
was  one  of  those  lovely  sunny  winter  days,  of  which 
there  are  but  few  in  the  year,  the  last  day  of  1839. 
From  early  morn  till  dusky  eve  we  labored  assidu 
ously  with  almost  every  family  in  the  then  small 
parish.  Our  humble  efforts  were  crowned  with  a 
success  far  beyond  our  most  flattering  expectations. 
With  what  a  satisfaction  we  wended  our  way  home, 
with  quick  steps  and  light  hearts,  but  heavy  purses, 
to  report  the  trial  of  our  experiment  to  anxious  and 
doubting  friends.  Thirteen  dollars,  all  in  silver, 
was  the  amount  of  our  precious  treasure.  As  we 
neared  our  homes,  walking  arm  in  arm  up  Factory 
street,  the  last  one  we  canvassed,  talking  over  the 


100  PERSONAL     SKETCHES 

wonderful  adventures  of  the  day,  and  our  reception 
by  different  individuals  to  whom  we  made  known 
our  errand ;  we  both  spoke  of  our  happy  lot  in  com 
parison  with  some  we  had  seen  that  day,  as  regards 
health,  friends  and  home,  and  all  the  nameless  etcet 
eras  that  go  to  make  up  the  sum  of  human  existence. 
Humble  and  unpretending  as  our  sphere  in  life  was, 
we  concluded  that  but  a  few  of  our  age,  had  enjoyed 
a  larger  share  of  happiness  than  we  had.  "But 
does  the  thought  ever  intrude  itself,  dear  Jane,"  I 
queried,  "  that  the  future  may  be  dark  and  dreary, 
and  the  friends  who  smile  lovingly  on  us  now,  may 
forsake  and  forget  us  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  she,  "  the 
future  none  can  foretell.  Ten  years  will,  undoubt 
edly  bring  to  us  many  changes.  If  we  live  let  us 
write  each  other  the  last  day  of  1849."  This  pro 
position  I  readily  assented  to,  and  as  readily  fulfilled 
when  the  time  arrived  ;  so  did  my  friend.  In  her 
letter  she  proposed  that  we  both  write  again  in  ten 
more  years,  the  last  day  of  1859.  That  we  also 
did.  For  your  espcial  gratification,  dear  F.,  and  the 
want  of  more  interesting  matter,  I  enclose  the 
whole  four  letters.  Mine  will  give  you  a  hurried 
outline  of  my  future  fortune,  which  I  will  fill  up 
more  in  detail,  in  subsequent  epistles.  The  flattery 
to  myself,  in  my  friend's  letters  you  may  skip. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  101 

Watertown,  Monday,  Dec.  31  st,  1849. 

MY  DEAR  JANE  : — Ten  years  have  rolled  away 
since  two  young  and  inexperienced  girls,  who  were 
no  less  personages  than  you  and  I,  were  walking 
the  streets  of  Watertown,  calling  on  friends,  old  and 
young,  soliciting  funds  to  commence  a  "  sewing 
society."  We  raised  far  more  than  the  most  san 
guine  of  our  friends  had  reason  to  expect.  The 
sequel  has  shown  to  us,  that  in  our  feeble  efforts  on 
that  memorable  day,  our  time  was  well  spent,  for 
that  same  society,  then  in  its  infancy,  has,  with  the 
well-plied  needle  alone,  achieved  wonders.  They 
have  sent  joy  and  gladness-  t6  many  a  sad  heart,  in 
their  errands  of  mercy  and  benevolence,  to  the  poor 
and  unfortunate,  literally  obeying  the  command  of 
their  divine  Teacher,  in  clothing  the  naked,  feeding 
the  hungry,  and  visiting  the  sick.  With  the  clear 
eye  of  a  beautiful  Christian  faith,  they  have  searched 
out  the  wretched  and  desolate,  and,  good  Samaritan- 
like,  sent  them  on  their  way  rejoicing.  They  have 
also  supplied  their  church  with  many  necessary  ap 
pendages,  paid  off  old  debts,  and,  withal,  contributed 
very  liberally  to  literary  and  benevolent  institutions 
abroad.  Industry  and  perseverance  has  been  their 
motto  from  the  commencement,  and  their  reward 
has  been  ten-fold,  securing  to  themselves  the  well- 
deserved  appellation  of  "  sisters  of  charity." 

You,  doubtless,  remember,  the  promise  we  mutu 
ally  made  on  that  day,  to  write  each  other  in  ten 
years,  and  as  the  time,  rapidly  passing,  has  expired, 
I  seat  myself  to  fulfil  the  engagement.  In  our 
journey  through  life,  we  are  constantly  reminded  of 
fleetness  of  time,  and  in  the  alternate  sunshine  and 
shadow  that  flit  across  our  path,  we  may  draw  a  les 
son  that  is  but  a  page  in  the  history  of  the  whole 
human  race.  In  this  general  historv  what  an  end- 
9* 


102  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

less  variety  of  subjects!  Poetry,  tragedy,  hopes, 
fears,  aspirations  never  realized,  joys  and  tears, 
riches  and  poverty,  one  vast  medley,,  which  a  few 
more  years  will  sweep  into  the  ocean  of  the  buried 
past.  As  might  be  expected  we  have  both  met  with 
a  great  change,  of  circumstances  in  this  short  time 
especially  myself.  Then,  in  the  inexperience  of 
girlhood,  we  were  strangers  to  care  or  want,  but 
various  circumstances  have  combined  to  change  the 
scene.  I  have  now  the  care  of  a  family,  which  I 
believe  you  are  free  from.  I  suppose  you  are  one  of 
the  many,  who  believe  that  the  pleasures  of  domes 
tic  life  can  never  compensate  its  attendant  cares, 
and  who  chooses  to  remain  single.  This,  in  many 
instances,  is  really  true,  but  in  far  the  most,  it  is 
otherwise.  The  past,  neither  of  us  can  review  with 
out  mingled  feelings  of  joy  and  sorrow.  With  me, 
however,  the  scenes  around  which  "  memory  de 
lights  to  linger,"  are  much  the  most  numerous,  and 
I  trust  this  is  also  true  of  yourself.  We  have  both 
followed  to  the  grave,  the  remains  of  a  much  loved 
parent,  who,  we  believe,  has  exchanged  this  life  of 
pain  and  trouble,  for  another,  which  has  restored  to 
them  infinitely  more  than  they  have  lost.  Were  it 
not  for  this  faith  in  a  blessed  immortality,  the  loss 
of  friends  would  be  truly  insupportable  ;  but  for  one 
who  confidently  believes  in  a  risen  Saviour,  death 
loses  all  its  terrors  and  becomes  a  messenger  of 
peace.  We,  too,  must  soon  be  ready  to  obey  his 
call,  for,  at  the  longest  time  allotted  to  man  on  earth, 
we  shall  see  but  three  or  four  more  tens  of  years 
before  we  shall  be  with  our  parents  who  have  gone 
before  us.  Many  others  with  whom  we  have  person 
ally  mingled  in  the  social  circle,  have  gone  the  way 
of  all  the  earth,  since  we  last  met ;  and  still  more 
have  absented  themselves  by  marriage,  and  removals, 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  103 

from  our  old  places  of  resort  and  evening  "  gather 
ings."  Another  set,  however,  have  taken  our  places, 
and  so  the  world  has  ever  moved,  and  ever  will. 

I  believe  I  have  heard  you  were  living  with  your 
sisters  at  C  -  .  I  suppose  you  enjoy  life  there 
as  well  as  formerly,  and,  perhaps,  better.  I  expect 
to  receive  a  letter  from  you  in  a  few  days,  according 
to  agreement,  informing  me  of  your  whereabouts, 
and  many  other  things  relative  to  yourself,  which 
will  not  fail  of  being  interesting  to  me,  for  it  is  a 
long  time  since  we  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  each 
other.  You  have,  probably,  been  informed  of  my 
new  location,  but  lest  you  may  not  have  heard  of 
our  removal,  I  will  say,  that  we  live  on  the  old 
homestead  in  W  -  .  My  husband's  health  is 
so  poor  that  he  has  been  obliged  to  abandon  the  min 
istry  for  the  present,  and  try  farming.  My  health 
is  excellent  as  it  always  has  been.  To-morrow  we 
have  a  little  family  party,  it  being  the  seventh  anni 
versary  of  our  marriage,  and  the  first  of  our  little 
daughter's  birth.  "  Our  child,"  of  course,  we 
think,  is  the  smartest  and  best  one  in  the  world. 
Do  not  laugh  at  our  folly,  for  all  parents  are  just 
like  us  in  that  respect.  I  will  close  by  inviting  you 
to  visit  us  in  our  new  home  at  your  earliest  con 
venience. 

Yours,  in  much  love. 

E.  M.  A. 


Carthage,  Jan.  13£A,  1850. 

MY  DEAR  ELOISE  :  —  Think  not,  because  I  failed 
to  write  you  on  the  day  appointed,  that  I  had  for 
gotten  you,  or  the  promise  we  made  to  each  other 
long  years  ago,  let  us  be  where  we  would,  or  under 
what  circumstances  we  should  hear  from  each  other 
in  some  way  —  yes,  I  remembered  it  distinctly,  and 


104 


PERSONAL  SKETCHES 


should  have  kept  my  faith,  had  I  known  where 
you  were,  so  I  am  sure  of  your  forgiveness  for  my 
negligence,  and  a  hearty  "  better  late  than  never," 
when  you  see  from  whom  this  comes,  even  if  it  docs 
not  arrive  the  first  day  of  January,  1850.  Well 
can  I  bring  to  mind  those  two  girls  wending  their 
way  from  house  to  house,  soliciting  aid  to  raise 
funds  for  a  sewing  society ;  I  am  sure  you  will 
agree  with  me  in  saying  'twas  a  very  happy  day  to 
both  of  us,  for  were  we  not  young,  gay  and  light- 
hearted,  free  from  care,  and  last,  not  least,  we  knew 
we  were  doing  our  duty,  and  that  always  brings 
happiness.  How  many  changes  these  passing  years 
have  brought  to  those  two  girls ;  you  are  a  wife  and 
a  happy  mother,  and  have  a  husband  who  loves  you, 
and  likely  appreciates  your  goodness  of  heart ; 
although  I  have  but  a  slight  acquaintance  with  him, 
please  present  my  regards  to  him,  and  tell  him  I 
trust  it  will  not  be  long,  ere  he  will  regain  his  former 
health,  and  once  more  be  able  "  to  do  his  Master's 
will."  It  has  in  truth  been  many  years  since  last 
we  met,  and  often,  very  often,  have  I  thought  of 
Eloise  and  girlhood  days.  How  little  we  then  knew 
of  trouble,  only  in  name  !  and  the  joyous  circle  that 
each  evening  brought  together,  we  can  never  forget, 
and  can  only  remember  them,  as  days  fled  never  to 
return.  All  who  used  to  meet  so  cheerfully  then, 
in  walks  and  visits,  are  filling  different  spheres,  as 
happy,  I  hope,  as  we  mortals  can  well  be,  some  to 
preside  over  homes  of  their  own,  happy  I  dare  say, 
among  loved  ones. 

Many  of  those,  too,  who  once  wended  .their  way  to 
the  old  church,  have  sought  homes  far  from  these 
old  haunts.  I  scarcely  know  twenty  faces  who  now 
worship  there,  for  time's  changes  have  passed  over 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  105 

all  things  there,  as  well  as  with  us,  and  seats  that 
once  held  dear  friends,  are  now  occupied  by  stran 
gers.  I  could  not,  if  I  tried,  express  the  feelings  I 
experience  when  I  enter  our  church.  I  never  feel 
at  home,  now,  for  I  do  not  sing  or  join  in  any  of  the 
exercises  that  used  to  afford  me  so  much  pleasure  ; 
they  sing  all  new  tunes  there  now,  and  those  who 
used  to  be  our  Sunday  school  scholars  are  the  first 
in  the  choir.  I  never  go  to  church  without  shed 
ding  tears,  for  the  loved  faces  are  gone  I  used  to 
welcome,  and  the  past  seems  like  a  sad  dream. 

I  do  live  with  my  sister  atC ,  and  since  S.  was 

married,  almost  five  years.  'Tis  a  pleasant  place  and 
a  good  home.  Mother  is  here,  too,  but  this  Spring, 
S.  goes  to  keeping  house,  and  then  she  will  live  with 
her.  I  think  she  will  like  the  change,  for  Water- 
town  to  her,  as  well  as  myself,  will  always  be  home. 
I  am  not  married,  and  presume  never  shall  be,  not 
for  the  want  of  chances,  but  other  reasons  ;  I  will 
neither  say  I  never  loved,  for  that  would  be  an  un 
truth.  I  have,  E.,  "  worshipped  an  idol  and  found 
it  clay,"  but  to  explain  and  tell  you  all  the  changes 
with  me,  in  the  past  ten  years,  would  fill  more  than 
this  sheet  of  paper  six  times.  I  would  much  like  to 
visit  you,  and  who  knows  but  fate  may  yet  bring  us 
once  more  together,  to  enjoy  a  right  old-fashioned 
visit.  *****  And  now  good  bye.  May 
angels  guard  you  and  yours.  Ever  thine  until  the 
last  day  of  1859,  when  we  shall  hear  from  each 
other  again.  J.  "W. 

Hopkinton,  St.  Law.  Cy.,  N.  Y. 
December,  31s£. 

MY  DEAR  JANE  :  —  Yours  of  January  18th, 
1850,  was  received  in  good  time,  and  has  been  pre 
served  in  remembrance  of  one  who  still  holds  a 


106  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

prominent  place  in  my  deeply-rooted  friendships  of 
former  days.  The  last  sentence  in  your  letter  of  ten 
years  ago,  which  is  now  before  me,  reads  thus : 
"Ever  thine,  until  the  last  day  of  1859,  when  we 
shall  hear  from  each  other  again."  In  accordance 
with  your  suggestion,  I  now  write  you  again.  The 
time  has  rapidly  fled,  and  yet  to  me  has  come  such 
a  multiplicity  of  changes,  disappointments,  labor 
and  care,  I  scarcely  know  how  to  choose  words  suffi 
ciently  brief  to  convey  to  you  an  idea  of  the  varied 
experience,  through  which  I  have  passed  during  the 
ten  years  that  have  gone  the  way  of  all  past  time, 
since  I  last  wrote  you.  I  shall  not  attempt,  in  dhe 
short  letter,  to  enter  into  the  details  of  my  life,  but 
only  give  you  an  outline  of  some  passing  events. 
It  is  hard  to  realize  with  what  rapidity  time  flies, 
and  yet  I  know  that  ten  springs  have  come  upon  the 
wings  of  ten  thousand  warblers,  and  brought  with 
them  the  mild  atmosphere,  and  buds,  and  tender 
herbage,  and  that  ten  Summers  have  burst  the  buds 
into  blossoms,  and  freighted  the  air  with  their  per 
fumery,  and  that  ten  Autumns  have  matured  their 
fruits  and  grain,  and  delivered  them  into  the  hands 
of  the  God  of  the  harvest,  and  as  many  winters  have 
made  their  stormy  way  from  Northland,  and  with 
their  killing  frosts,  have  seared  the  green  leaf,  and 
left  the  beautiful  flowers  all  withered  on  the  cold 
ground.  How  fitly  have  the  seasons  been  compared 
to  the  different  stages  of  human  life.  In  that  time 
who  has  not  wept  over  the  grave  of  some  buried 
treasure,  notwithstanding  the  beautiful  and  comfort 
ing  faith  that  we  shall  see  them  again,  to  perish  no 
more  forever,  where  the  affections  bud  and  blossom 
in  the  green  pastures,  and  by  the  still  waters  of  life 
eternal.  One  dear  and  amiable  sister  has  gone 
from  our  large  family  circle,  since  I  wrote  you  last, 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS.  107 

Mrs.  Lawson.  She  died,  October  27th,  1854.  Her 
disease  was  cancer,  and  her  illness  lengthy  and 
painful.  She  died  happy  in  her  cherished  faith,  as 
she  had  lived  in  the  spirit  of  kindness  to  all,  which 
it  teaches.  I  know  we  are  apt  to  think  our  friends 
are  the  best  people  in  the  world,  especially  those 
called  home  by  death.  They  are  so  to  us,  dear 
Jane.  We  are  no  longer  the  unbroken  band  of 
brothers  and  sisters.  Blessed  as  she  was  in  the 
love  of  friends,  we  feel  that  she  is  infinitely  more  so 
now. 

My  own  family  has  all  been  spared,  thus  far,  and 
numbers  only  one  more  than  it  did  ten  years  ago. 
We  have  a  son,  nine  years  of  age,  who,  with  his 
sister,  sits  at  the  table  with  me,  eating  raisins  and 
candy,  that  Santa  Glaus  left  in  their  stockings  last 
night.  The  good  old  St.  Nicholas  visits  our  fireside 
Christmas  and  New  Year's.  He  will  live  long  years 
yet  in  the  affections  of  Children,  and  his  existence 
is  no  more  fabled  than  many  other  deities  in  Chris 
tendom.  To-morrow  evening,  they  have  a  party  in 
honor  of  Marion's  eleventh  birth-day ;  she  was  the 
baby  of  a  year  old  when  I  wrote  you  ten  years 
ago.  We  keep  them  both  in  school  nearly  all  flie 
time,  and  if  they  do  not  get  an  education  it  will 
be  their  own  fault. 

We  remained  on  the  old  home  farm  but  two  years, 
and  one  year  at  Pillar  Point  near  the  shore  of  Black 
River  Bay.  My  lot  has  always  been  cast  in  pleasant 
places,  and  this  last  one  I  have  mentioned,  was  par 
ticularly  so  ;  a  level  surface  of  ground  in  sight  of 
Lake  Ontario,  where  all  water  craft  from  an  Indian 
canoe  up  to  the  magnificent  Steamer  "Niagara," 
play  like  things  of  life,  upon  the  bosom  of  the  deep. 

Seven  years  ago  we  left  this  beautiful  place,  and 
came  to  Hopkinton,  much  against  my  inclination, 


108  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

but  with  a  better  prospect,  seemingly,  of  a  home  of 
our  own,  so  I  reluctantly  gave  up  all  old  associations, 
and  tried  to  make  everything  appear  for  the  best, 
and  settled  once  more  in  a  land  of  strangers.  *'  By 
the  rivers  of  Babylon  we  sat  down,  and  wept  when 
we  remembered  Zion !  "  I  have  lived  here  long 
enough  to  learn  that  all  the  good  people  in  the  world 
do  not  live  in  Watertown.  Still,  "  my  harp  hangs 
upon  the  willows,"  and  I  sigh  for  the  companions  of 
my  early  youth. 

After  many  losses  and  wrongs,  struggles  with 
poverty  and  ill-health,  with  a  little  help  from  friends, 
we  have  got  a  very  comfortable  home  of  our  own, 
and  we  have  as  many  of  the  comforts  of  life  as  we 
deserve,  perhaps  more ;  though  we  feel  as  though  it 
had  been  hard  earned. 

Three  years  ago  we  were  houseless  and  homeless, 
except  a  lot  of  forty  acres,  without  buildings  or 
water ;  from  that  time  till  the  present,  I  have 
travelled  and  sold  books.  My  success  has  been 
much  better  than  I  expected,  and  I  have  begun  to 
reap  the  reward  of  my  labors,  awaiting  the  changes 
oftthe  future.  Write  on  the  reception  of  this,  if 
you  have  not  before,  and  give  me  a  history  of  your 
doings  and  changes  in  life. 

Ever  yours  in  love  and  good  wishes, 

E.  M.  A. 

Milwaukee,    Wis.,  Jan.  13^,  1860. 

MY  DEAR  ELOISE  : — Your  letter  of  Dec.  31st 
I  received  last  evening,  forwarded  from  Carthage, 
and  I  never  was  more  pleased  to  hear  from  any  one 
I  ever  knew  ;  for  can  it  be  possible,  ten  years  have 
past  since  last  we  wrote  each  other  ?  and  what  is 
more  singular  still,  your  letter  came,  so  that  I  can 
date  mine  the  very  day  of  the  month  I  did  ten  years 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  109 

ago ;  I  need  not  tell  you  how  much  your  letter 
interested  me,  for  though  I  have  always  known  by 
the  papers  where  your  husband  was  located,  still  of 
your  fortune  in  worldly  matters  I  knew  nothing  ; 
and  here  let  me  say,  none  but  you,  Eloise,  could 
have  done,  and  passed  through  the  furnace  hope 
fully  and  cheerfully,  and  gamed  what  you  have ; 
but  you  possess  the  same  indomitable  perseverance 
that  belong  to  the  whole  family  of  Miles's.  Now 
I  think  the  rest  of  your  days  you  can  enjoy,  under 
your  "own  vine  and  fig  tree." 

Until  1855,  I  lived  at  Carthage,  as  I  had  for 
years  before,  going  and  coming  when  I  pleased,  and 
where ;  two  winters  I  spent  in  New  York  with 
Bell.  Abbey  Bucklin,  you  know  her ;  she  is  the 
daughter  of  Dorus  Abbey,  who  lost  his  life  in  the 
patriot  war  in  Canada,  and  your  predecessor  as 
governess  in  the  Woodruff  family.  And  then  Miss 
B.  of  New  York  would  spend  a  summer  with  me, 
and  so  went  time.  S.'s  husband,  the  Doctor,  be 
came  a  confirmed  dyspeptic,  and  obliged  to  give  up 
his  business,  took  it  into  his  head,  if  he  could  only 

go  back  to  his  native  place,  W ville,  he   should 

soon  be  well  again.  After  shedding  bottles  of  tears, 
S.  consented  to  part  with  her  beautiful  home  in 
Watertown,  and  go  among  strangers ;  had  she 
thought  'twould  be  of  any  benefit  to  the  Doctor, 
she  would  have  gone  without  a  murmur.  He 

bought  a  pleasant  place  in  "W ville   and  we  all 

moved  there  the  5th  of  May,  '55.  Ma  had  a  shock 
of  paralysis  and  I  went  to  take  care  of  her,  which 
I  was  glad  to  do.  I  like  to  think  back  to  those 
days,  for  I  never  took  so  much  comfort  with  my 
mother  before,  for  you  know  she  was  always  such  a 
worker.  She  lived  till  the  25th  of  August,  1857, 
and  then  went  home,  and  was  so  glad  to  go.  She 
10 


110  PERSONAL  SKETCHES- 

had  been  worse,  seemingly,  a  thousand  times,  than 
at  her  last  sickness ;  she  died  of  consumption. 
Until  the  day  before  her  death,  I  never  dreamed  she 
was  going  to  die  then.  S.  and  her  husband  were 
on  an  excursion  to  the  White  Mountains,  and  did 
not  return  until  the  day  before  her  death.  She 
wished  always  to  be  taken  back  to  Watertown  and 
placed  by  the  side  of  father,  and  we  did  so.  *  * 
Dr.  "W.  is  dead  ;  going  back  to  his  old  home  did 
not  prolong  his  life.  You  recollect  W.  F.  S.,  don't 
you  ?  I  was  married  to  him  in  October,  1858,  and 
live  in  Milwaukee.  The  west  does  not  agree  with  me. 
I  have  the  ague  and  fever,  and  am  as  thin  as  a 
shad.  I'll  get  used  to  the  climate  after  a  while. 
This  is  a  beautiful  day,  just  snow  enough  and  not 
cold  in  this  lovely  city.  M.  sent  the  envelope  to 
your  letter,  so  I  could  see  my  old  name ;  there,  I 
believe  I  have  told  you  all  of  my  whereabouts  up 
to  1860.  So  good-by,  dear  Eloise,  till  ten  more  years 
of  changes  come.  Shall  we  live  till  then  ?  If  we 
do  we  shall  be  old  women,  but  not  in  heart. 

Yours  ever,  JENNIE  S. 


LETTER  XV. 

How  our  Sewing  Society  prospered,  and  what  it  has  accomplished — 
Church  burned  and  a  new  one  erected  on  its  site  —  Family  School 
at  Mr.  Woodruff's  —  Extract  from  a  letter  from  my  brother  — 
The  Woodruff  Family  —  The  Woodruff  House  —  Riches  and 
Poverty  —  Happy  Families — Reminescence  of  a  poor  widow  — 
Faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  the  most  enduring  riches. 

MY  DEAR  F  :  — 

The  weekly  meetings  of  our  sewing  society 
brought  large  circles  of  happy  friends  together, 
both  old  and  young,  and  our  first  investment  of 
cash,  which  was  for  cloth  to  make  into  shirts,  bed- 
quilts,  &c.,  was  soon,  by  our  handiwork,  converted 
into  garments.  A  little  stocking  yarn  was  pur 
chased,  for  "  knitting  work "  for  old  ladies,  and 
everything  went  off  charmingly.  Two  or  three  of 
the  more  "  knowing  ones  "  were  appointed  a  com 
mittee  by  the  society,  to  frame  a  constitution  and 
by-laws,  which  were  stricfly  adhered  to  ;  and  the 
proceedings  of  each  meeting  were  put  on  record  by 
the  Secretary,  also  the  receipt  and  expenditures, 
and  a  report  made  of  the  whole  to  every  meeting. 
The  first  sales  of  garments,  together  with  the  week- 


112  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

ly  tax  of  members,  and  voluntary  contributions  from 
various  quarters  more  than  doubled  the  stock,  be 
sides  leaving  a  number  of  quilts  made  of  old  cloth, 
that  were  given  to  poor  families  in  the  village,  out 
side  the  parish.  Our  efforts  to  succeed  were  untir 
ing,  and  we  were  especially  anxious  on  the  subject, 
as  many  were  faltering  and  doubtful  in  the  outset. 
With  constant  accessions  to  our  numbers,  came  an 
increase  of  business.  Young  men  employed  us  to 
do  their  sewing,  and  before  winter  was  gone,  one 
wholesale  clothing  establishment  furnished  us  with 
all  we  could  do.  Thus  they  advanced  from  one  step 
to  another,  until  the  avails  of  their  labor  purchased 
carpets,  curtains  and  lamps,  and  all  necessary  church 
furniture ;  but  to  give  you  a  correct  idea  of  all 
their  doings,  would  take  more  time  and  space  than 
I  have,  and  exhaust  your  patience  to  read  it.  Suf 
fice  it  to  say,  that  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  twenty 
years,  the  sewing  society  is  still  in  successful  opera 
tion,  and  they  have  had  many  fairs  and  festivals, 
and  I  believe  it  no  exaggeration  to  state  that  the 
avails  of  their  labor  have  amounted  to  several 
thousand  dollars.  During  this  time,  their  church 
edifice  has  been  destroyed  by  fire,  in  a  conflagration 
that  swept  away  more  than  half  the  business  part 
of  the  village  ;  and  on  the  site,  a  new  church  has 
been  erected  at  a  cost  of  more  than  twelve  thousand 
dollars,  of  which,  three  hundred  was  contributed 
from  their  treasury. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  113 

For  two  years  from  this  time,  I  was  in  a  family 
school  in  Watertown  Village,  with  the  exception  of 
one  term  of  absence,  teaching  in  Champion  Village  ; 
during  the  second  summer,  I  was  about  to  accept  a 
proposal  to  teach  a  district  school  in  a  neighboring 
county,  which,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  would 
have  been  decidedly  to  my  advantage  ;  but  the  fol 
lowing  extract  from  a  letter  from  my  brother,  who 
was  keeping  a  book-store  in  the  village,  received 
while  on  a  visit  to  my  parents,  will  show  you  what 
inducements  I  had  to  change  my  plans.  "  You  have 
doubtless  been  informed  ere  this,  that  Mrs.  N.  M. 
Woodruff  wishes  to  engage  you  in  her  house  as  a 
governess  for  her  five  youngest  children,  and  offers 
you  one  dollar  per  week  for  teaching  her  five 
youngest  children  for  four  hours  a  day  only.  Now, 
all  that  I  am  afraid  of  is,  that  you  have  engaged  to 
go  to  Pinkney.  You  will  not,  will  you,  let  the 
larger  wages  offered  there  induce  you  to  go,  with 
out  your  engagement  is  absolutely  positive  with 
them  ?  The  bearer  of  this  has  gone  up  on  purpose 
to  induce  you  to  accept  Mrs.  "VV's  offer.  You  will, 
of  course,  act  your  own  pleasure,  but  I  hope  you 
will  come.  You  will  have  all  the  advantages  of  the 
superior  society  here,  and  certainly  have  an  easy 
task.  Besides,  think  of  the  many  leisure  hours, 
in  which  you  can  read  and  study,  and  almost  every 
week  a  scientific  lecture,  and  church  every  Sab- 
10* 


114  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

bath."  In  a  few  days,  I  found  myself  located  in 
my  new  home  under  as  advantageous  circum 
stances  as  had  been  represented  to  me,  and  as 
pleasant  a  situation  as  heart  could  wish.  Their 
residence  was  on  Arsenal  Street,  a  few  doors  from 
the  American  Hotel.  Here,  I  did  not  have  an  idle 
hour,  for  I  knew  how  to  do  almost  any  kind  of 
fancy  work,  as  well  as  useful  sewing.  As  steady  as 
my  labor  was,  but  so  frequently  spiced  with  re 
creation,  and  opportunities  of  acquiring  useful 
knowledge,  and  such  an  endless  variety  of  exciting 
subjects  were  crowded  in  my  way,  that  time  flew 
with  an  astonishing  rapidity.  The  family  of  which 
I  was  a  member,  was  a  pleasant  and  good  one,  and 
all  seemed  to  enjoy  life  well,  generally,  with  the 
exception  of  the  head  of  it.  He  had  too  much 
wealth,  and  the  care  of  it  brought  innumerable  per 
plexities  and  almost  unutterable  trouble  of  mind. 
He  seldom  spent  an  hour  a  day  in  the  society  of  his 
wife  and  children,  only  when  at  meals.  These  were 
generally  partaken  of  in  pensive  silence,  then  away 
again  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  those  in  his  employ, 
whose  "  name  was  legion,"  or  his  tenants,  and  they 
made  up  another  small  army.  Besides  the  care  of 
all  these,  he  built  and  owned  the  "  Woodruff 
House,"  the  largest  hotel  in  northern  New  York, 
and  superintended  the  financial  affairs  of  its  large 
income.  He  did  not  hoard  his  wealth  ;  for  the 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  115 

heart  of  many  a  poor  man  has  been  made  glad  with 
his  benefactions.  In  his  case,  riches  and  benevolence 
were  linked  together,  hand  in  hand,  however  much 
they  are  strangers  in  some  other  persons.  The 
pressure  of  the  cares  of  business  was  too  much  for 
his  brain,  and  apoplexy  and  insanity  were  the 
melancholy  result.  He  was  a  wretched  inmate  of 
an  insane  asylum  for  a  series  of  months,  from  which 
he  was  kindly  released  by  death. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  wealth  brings  happi 
ness  to  its  possessor,  especially  by  those  whom 
Providence  has  allotted  a  low  step  in  Fortune's 
ladder.  Ah  !  mistaken  idea !  there  are  often  shock 
ing  contrasts  in  the  exterior  and  interior  of  life  ; 
many  a  millionare  has  borne  testimony  to  the  falsity 
of  it.  How  few  would  accept  the  dollars  and  cents 
for  which  they  sigh,  did  they  know  a  tithe  of  the 
anxieties  and  brain  labor  that  would  come  along 
with  them.  The  sweet  brown  loaf  of  the  cottage 

O 

peasant,  partaken  of  in  sweeter  peace,  is  an  enviable 
lot  compared  with  such  an  one.  The  humble  homes 
from  which  the  intricacies  of  a  complicated  and  dif 
ficult  business,  the  wealthy  are  nearly  always  sub 
jected  to,  are  banished,  are  those  where  contentment 
sits  smiling  upon  the  countenances  of  their  inmates. 
How  blessed  is  such  a  home,  if  it  hold  the  central 
magnet  of  love,  around  which  thronging  hearts  of 
congenial  friends  and  kindred  revolve  with  an  at- 


116  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

traction  that  never  fails.  There  is  a  wealth  by  the  side 
of  which  the  glittering  coffers  filled  with  Golconda's 
precious  metals,  are  but  filthy  rags.  I  hare  made 
intimate  acquaintance  with  families  whom  poverty 
rose  up  with  in  the  morning,  sat  with  at  table,  and 
retired  with  them  late  at  night  to  a  hard  couch,  and 
yet  they  were  prodigally  rich  in  a  variety  and  ful 
ness  of  blessings.  Rich  in  faith,  in  the  promises  of 
God,  in  the  sympathy  and  encouragement  of  kind 
friends,  in  health  and  activity,  and  all  the  nameless, 
glorious  anticipations  of  the  future  life,  where  all 
the  heart-yearnings,  anxieties,  hopes  and  fears  of 
the  rich  and  poor  together  will  have  passed  away. 
Of  this  class,  one  poor  widow,  well  advanced  in 
years,  holds  a  prominent  place  in  my  recollections 
of  these  days.  In  her  struggles  with  poverty,  the 
lamp  of  hopeful  assurance,  for  a  "  better  time " 
kept  burning  brightly  to  lighten  her  pathway.  Her 
seat  at  church  was  never  vacant,  and  none  dwelt 
with  more  satisfaction  on  the  comforting  words  of 
the  young  pastor  than  she  did.  Her  calm  and  serene 
countenance  was  an  index  to  the  tranquility  that 
rested  in  her  soul.  In  recounting  her  trials  through 
life  she  would  remark,  that  God's  promises  which, 
if  all  earthly  comfort  fail,  would  be  her  "  rod  and 
staff  through  the  dark  valley  and  shadow  of  death." 
"  I  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  thee."  This  she 
clung  to  as  her  chief  good,  through  all  the  changes 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  117 

which  she  had  passed.  She  even  dwelt  with  satis 
faction  on  her  past  successes  and  joys,  chilled  as 
they  were  in  the  intervals,  with  trouble  and  sorrow  ; 
they  were  a  light  to  her  sunken  spirit.  Like  the 
neglected  grave  mound  of  him  who  had  been  her 
stay  and  support  in  better  days,  they  awakened  a 
train  of  pleasing,  yet  painful  memories.  What  a 
blessed  faith  is  that  which  assures  us  that  an 
Omniscient  eye  is  over  all  the  works  of  His  hands, 
in  care  for  the  least,  as  well  as  the  greatest,  and 
that  He  will  eventually  send  His  good  angels  to 
lead  by  the  hand  all  the  morally  "  halt,  lame  and 
blind,"  into  paths  of  righteousness  and  peace  * 
"  For  there  is  more  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner 
that  repenteth,  than  over  ninety  and  nine  just 
persons  that  have  no  need  of  repentance."  A  faith 
like  this,  and  a  life  corresponding  with  it,  are  the 
real  riches  of  this  world ;  by  the  side  of  it,  honor, 
wealth,  pride  and  ambition,  are  narrow  and  worthless, 
if  those  who  possess  them  are  forgetful  of  the  true 
bread  of  life,  and  make  the  mind  subservient  to  a 
body  pampered  with  "  oil  and  wine." 


LETTER  XVI. 

Extracts  from  "my  Diary— Reflections  on  the  New  Tear— Woman's 
Rights— The  Fable  of  the  Monkey— Theological  Seminary  at  An- 
dover — Men  engaged  in  the  Woman's  Rights  Movement — Henry 
Ward  Beecher  and  others,  &c. 

MY  DEAE  F  :— 

A  few  extracts  from  my  diary  will  inform  you  of 
some  of  the  ways  I  spent  my  time,  and  of  my  gen 
eral  employment  out  of  the  school-room. 

January  ls£. — Spent  the  day  in^  school  and  re 
ceived  a  call  in  the  evening  from  my  brother ;  he 
made  me  a  New  Year's  present — three  books.  Miss 
Sedgwick's  Letters  from  Abroad,  in  two  volumes, 
and  Friendship's  Offering,  a  beautiful  annual  with 
steel  engravings.  This  will  make  reading  for  many 
leisure  hours  in  the  future.  Time  has  brought  us 
to  the  close  of  another  year.  It  has  been  justly 
remarked  that  "  time  is  the  only  thing  of  which  it 
is  a  virtue  to  be  parsimonious ;  "  and  yet  we  are  the 
most  prodigal  of  it.  How  few  of  us  can  look  back 
upon  the  past  year,  and  say  that  it  has  been  well 
spent.  Will  the  next  year  be  an  improvement  in 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  119 

this  respect?  and  where  shall  we  be?  Perhaps 
with  the  dead.  Let  us  not  forget  the  blessings 
which  are  daily  showered  upon  all ;  the  "  evil  and 
unthankful,"  as  well  as  the  good.  The  sun  continues 
his  course  in  the  heavens,  dispensing  light  and  heat 
to  all,  regardless  of  circumstances,  and  how  illy  is 
his  value  appreciated.  "  The  works  of  the  Lord 
are  manifold,  and  in  wisdom  He  has  made  them  all." 
It  was  unquestionably  the  design  of  Deity,  that  we 
should  be  placed  in  different  spheres  of  action  as  we 
are,  and  each  have  a  share  of  good  and  evil,  which 
is  allotted  by  an  unerring  Providence.  While  we 
enjoy  the  cheerful  fireside  let  us  not  forget  the  many 
who  pine  in  want  and  solitude,  "  sore  pierced  by  the 
wintry  winds." 

January  2>rd. — This  evening,  attended  the  Ly 
ceum  at  the  Young  Men's  Association  room.  The 
question  debated,  was  in  relation  to  the  political 
rights  of  women.  My  own  opinion  is,  that  it  is 
perfectly  preposterous  that  women  should  have  a 
right  to  vote,  or  any  voice  in  the  matter,  and  I  am 
thinking  they  would  be  as  much  out  of  their  sphere 
as  the  monkey  in  the  fable.  "  What  a  low  and  tire 
some  life  is  that  which  I  lead  in  the  forests  with 
stupid  animals !  I,  who  am  the  image  of  man !  " 
exclaimed  a  monkey,  disgusted  with  living  in  the 
woods.  "  I  must  go  and  live  in  the  cities  with  people 
who  resemble  me,  and  who  are  civilized."  He 


120  PERSONAL   SKETCHES 

thither  went ;  but  he,  himself,  soon  repented  of  it ; 
he  was  taken,  chained,  mocked  and  insulted.  Moral 
— Frequent  your  like,  and  not  get  out  of  your 
sphere."*  I  am  willing  to  allow  the  "lords  of  cre 
ation  "  to  superintend  the_affairs  of  government,  and, 
as  one  man  at  the  Lyceum  remarked,  "  The  women 
are  fit  only  to  darn  stockings  and  raise  children." 
The  weight  of  argument,  however,  was  on  the  other 
side,  and  the  chairman  was  obliged  to  decide  in 
favor  of  the  political  enfranchisement  of  women. 
Bear  in  mind,  my  dear  F.,  that  the  above  was  written 
nearly  twenty  years  ago,  and  that  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
considered  in  any  way  responsible  for  the  sentiment 
of  it  now.  The  professors  in  the  Theolgical  Seminary 
at  Andover,  are  installed  with  the  usual  ceremonies 
and  solemnities,  for  a  term  of  five  years,  in  which 
they  pledge  themselves  to  teach  the  peculiar  theol 
ogy  in  all  its  essential  points,  of  the  sect,  by  whose 
patronage  the  institution  lives.  Perhaps  their  salary 
has  some  bearing  on  their  duty  and  belief,  five  years 
in  the  future ;  but,  if  from  any  cause  a  man  is 
obliged  to  believe  and  teach  five  years  to  come,  what 
he  does  to  day,  I  can  see  no  reason  why  a  woman 
should  hold  to  the  same  faith  twenty  years,  on  a  sub 
ject  which  has  agitated  the  public  mind  to  such  a 
degree,  that  a  complete  revolution  is  likely  to  be  the 

*Bolmar's  French  Tables. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  121 

result.  Not  only  intelligent  and  cultivated  women 
are  laboring  with  well-directed  energies  to  effect  a 
reform  in  their  condition  and  position  in  society,  but 
a  large  body  of  enterprising  men  are  earnestly  and 
zealously  acting  with  them,  in  the  same  cause.  Not 
the  least  among  these,  was  the  late  Rev.  Theodore 
Parker,  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  Hon.  Gerritt 
Smith,  and  scores  of  others,  now  living,  swell  the 
number  to  legions.  If  the  sentiments  advanced  at  the 
Lyceum,  above  spoken  of,  were  ever  true,  the  time  has 
gone  by,  that  women  are  regarded  in  any  such  light. 
True,  most  of  women  are  skilful  in  these  employ 
ments,  but  just  as  much  so  in  other  vocations,  at 
suitable  times  and  places,  as  those  who  have  been 
pleased  to  style  themselves  the  "  stronger  sex."  As 
you  have  expressed  an  opinion  on  this  subject  and 
asked  for  mine,  I  may  as  well  introduce  it  here,  as 
hereafter,  with  my  reasons  for  a  change  of  opinion. 
I  would  not  now  underrate  the  employment  of  taking 
care  of  children,  or  detract  a  particle  from  the  respon 
sibility  and  magnitude  of  a  mother's  calling  as  such 
— for  I  know  that  it  underlies  all  other  aims  human 
ity  aspires  to,  in  the  far  off  future.  If  all  others 
are  ignorant  of  the  fact,  the  mothers  of  this  liberty- 
loving  land  knows  that,  dearer  interests  than  houses 
or  land,  or  the  distracting  cares  of  public  life,  are 
invested  in  their  little  heart-treasures  at  home.  The 
great  issues  for  good  or  ill,  are  in  a  measure  in  her 
11 


122  PERSONAL   SKETCHES 

hands,  and  to  neglect  their  culture,  for  any  minor 
consideration,  (and  everything  else  ought  to  be 
second  to  that  duty  with  the  mother),  would  be  a 
criminal  perversion  of  the  noblest  instinct  God  has 
placed  in  the  human  mind.  All  the  great  and  good 
of  earth,  Franklin,  Howard,  and  Florence  Nightin 
gale,  were  caressed  in  a  mother's  lap,  and  no  doubt 
owe  a  large  share  of  their  world-renowned  useful 
ness,  and  sacrifices  in  humanity's  cause,  to  their 
vigilance  and  example. 

But  there  is  another  view  of  this  subject,  which 
opposers  of  the  doctrine  of  the  equality  of  the  sexes 
do  not  seem  to  appreciate.  In  the  light  of  their 
slim  philosophy,  the  simple  rights  of  citizenship,  is 
to  them  an  absurd  yearning  in  the  heart  of  woman, 
and  they  can  see  no  middle  ground,  between  mothers 
leaving  the  cradle  at  home  unrocked,  and  their  hus 
bands'  stockings  undarned,  and  rushing  out  into  the 
unfeeling  world,  for  a  battle  between  life  and  death, 
(I  wish  this  were  wholly  a  fancy  picture),  and  the 
whole  feminine  race  remaining  in  a  blessed  state  of 
ignorance  of  governmental  affairs,  of  their  husband's 
financial  affairs,  of  all  the  mechanical  trades,  and  of 
everything  else  in  the  way  of  lucrative  employment. 
There  might  be  a  little  more  plausibility  in  their 
arguments,  if  all  the  adult  females  in  the  world 
were  mothers,  or  had  fathers  or  husbands  who  had 
the  ability  and  disposition  to  support  them.  The 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  123 

time  has  been,  within  my  remembrance,  that  it  was 
a  generally  received  doctrine  with  both  sexes,  that, 
nature  had  not  endowed  women  with  a  capacity  of 
acquiring   the  means  of  support   equal  to  that  of 
men.     Perhaps  that  doctrine  would  have  been  as 
popular  now,  as  it  was  thirty  years  ago,  had  not  the 
experiment  been  tried  in  hundreds  of  cases,  and  not 
proved  a  failure.     Driven  by  the  force  of  circum 
stances  over  which  she  had  no  control,  into  the  world, 
penniless,  in  too  many   instances   she   has  demon 
strated  to   the    satisfaction  of  the  most   superficial 
observer,  that  she  has  a  natural  business  talent,  fully 
equal  to  that  of  the  other  sex.     And  that,  too,  in 
the  face  of  the  most  discouraging  casualities ;  in  a 
state  of  society  like  the  present,  when  her  education, 
the  voice  of  the  multitude,  the  custom  of  the  times, 
and  too  many  other  things  to  name,  have  operated 
to  put  out  of  her  reach  almost  every  available  means 
to  gain  such  an  end.     But  a  very  few  employments 
are  opened  to  her  which  are  considered  "  proper  " 
for  women  to  engage  in,  and  these  are  compensated 
with  a  mere  pittance.  '  Even  with  the  same  amount 
of  labor,  her  remuneration  has  always  been  less,  and 
that  often  grudgingly  paid.     Cotton  factories,  sew 
ing  and  knitting  machines  have  finished  the  work  of 
taking  from  the   hands  of  the    masses  everything 
by  which  they  could  turn   their   energies  to  good 
practical  account,  if  they  had  anything  to  do.     The 


124  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

consequence  is,  that  a  large  share  of  the  females  in 
the  United  States  are  as  ignorant  of  the  practical 
duties  of  life  as  a  boarding  school  Miss  in  Boston,  is 
of  pioneer  life  in  the  wilds  of  Nebraska.  Their 
knowledge  does  not  go  beyond  the  crotchet-needle, 
or  the  last  novel.  Between  these  is  a  butterfly 
chase  after  airy  nothings,  or  a  new  dress  for  the  next 
ball.  Another  class,  and  these  include  nearly  all  of 
the  remainder,  are  wearing  out  their  lives  and  ener 
gies  in  a  treadmill  of  the  most  menial  services,  and 
their  earnings  are  no  more  under  their  control,  than 
are  a  southern  slave's.  Northern  Christians  have 
a  great  deal  to  say  about  the  evils  of  southern 
slavery,  and  enough  eloquence  of  the  pulpit  and 
energy  of  the  press  have  been  exhausted  in  the 
State  of  New  York  alone,  it  would  seem  on  that  one 
subject,  to  convert  the  world  from  the  darkest  night 
of  atheism  to  the  noon-day  sun  of  Christianity, 
whose  beams  shall  penetrate  a  territory  broad  enough 
to  illumine  every  dark  corner  of  the  globe.  Through 
their  instrumentality,  millions  of  dollars  have  been 
expended,  sending  the  Bible  with  their  interpretation 
of  it  to  the  Feejee  Islands,  to  India  and  Africa, 
when,  perhaps,  at  the  same  time  under  their  own 
roofs  there  existed  a  heathenish  darkness,  more 
appalling  than  African  servitude,  and  of  that  the 
half  of  its  evils  have  never  been  told.  How  many 
mothers  in  this  State  have  any  knowledge  of  the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  125 

sciences  or  natural  laws.  Not  half  of  them  spend 
an  hour  in  a  week,  reading,  because  their  endless 
round  of  duties  leaves  them  no  time,  and  their 
"  lack  of  knowledge  disqualifies  them  for  a  taste  for 
literature."  If  they  are  deficient  in  knowledge  of 
books,  they  are  much  more  so  with  regard  to  busi 
ness  or  financial  affairs.  Not  one  in  ten  knows  any 
thing  about  the  amount  of  her  husband's  income  or 
outgo,  and  if  she  is  left  widowed,  with  the  care  of 
a  family,  pretended  creditors,  may,  and  often  do, 
rob  her  of  the  last  cent. 

The  handful  of  women  who  have  dared  to  open 
their  mouths  in  public,  in  defense  of  the  rights  of 
their  sex,  or,  in  fact,  on  any  other  subject,  have  been 
branded  as  coarse,  unlady-like  and  masculine,  and 
the  venom  of  a  legion  of  tongues  and  pens,  has 
been  showered  upon  them  from  the  pulpit  and  press  ; 
and  they  have  been  tauntingly  referred  to  what  St. 
Paul  says  of  women  being  "  keepers  at  home,"  (I 
might  digress  here,  dear  F.,  enough  to  preach  you 
a  sermon  on  some  of  the  customs  of  St.  Paul's  times, 
and  pass  an  opinion  that  some  of  his  sentiments 
were  particularly  adapted  to  that  age,  and  just 
mildly  hint  that,  his  being  an  old  bachelor,  might 
have  some  bearing  on  his  restrictions  with  regard  to 
women  ;  but  if  I  did  I  should  be  immediately  set 
down  as  an  infidel,  by  the  same  ones,  perhaps,  who 
do  not  feel  themselves  bound  to  accept  all  of  St. 


126  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Paul's  advice,  for  he  advises  the  "  unmarried  and 
widows  to  remain  unmarried,  even  as  I.")  "  Keep 
the  hearth-stone  bright,"  they  say,  "  and  leave  every 
thing  else  to  us."  What  if  they  have  no  hearth 
stones  ?  There  is  not  a  town  in  the  United  States, 
probably,  that  has  not  women  who  have  been  driven 
from  their  homes,  (if  the  hovels  they  stay  in  are 
deserving  that  sacred  name),  by  drunken  husbands, 
and  left  to  take  a  choice  between  starvation  for  them 
selves  and  little  ones,  and  the  pauper's  protection  in 
the  almshouse.  In  case  of  final  separation,  no  mat 
ter  for  what  cause,  the  laws  of  the  State,  up  to  last 
winter,  by  a  new  act  of  Legislature,  gave  the  hus 
band  all  the  property  and  children.  Now,  the 
mother  is  the  legal  guardian  of  her  children,  as  she 
always  has  been  the  natural  one,  in  case  of  death, 
drunkeness,  or  wilful  desertion.  This  was  opposed 
as  strenuously  as  though  the  cause  had  been  a  just 
and  humane  one,  but  the  majority  ruled.  It  is  not 
more  than  three  years  since  a  man  in  Pennsylvania, 
about  to  die,  willed  his  three  children  to  his  brother, 
because  his  wife,  their  mother,  was  a  Catholic. 
After  his  death  she  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court 
for  protection  in  her  God-given  right,  and  they  de 
cided  against  her  ;  the  unfeeling  uncle  took  them  to 
his  own  home.  "  Tell  it  not  in  Gath  !  "  In  the  light 
of  all  these  facts  there  are  thousands  of  women  in 
Christian  New  York,  who  say  they  have  all  the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  127 

• 

rights  they  want.  Voluntary  slavery  is  more  de 
grading  than  any  other,  for  it  shows  a  lower  degree 
of  aspiration  and  desire  for  advancement  than  that 
which  is  compulsory. 

The  sister  of  the  noble  Kossuth,  who  kept  a  board 
ing  house  in  New  York  city,  had  all  her  furniture 
and  hard  earnings  seized  to  pay  the  debts  of  a  worth 
less  husband.  She  remonstrated  with  him  on  his 
extravagance  ;  and  he  pointed  her  to  our  revised 
statutes,  with  the  remark  :  "  Remember,  you  are 
not  in  Hungary,  now."  She  remarked  to  a  friend, 
in  speaking  of  her  troubles,  that  the  the  laws  of 
New  York  State,  with  regard  to  married  women, 
were  worse  than  those  of  poor  oppressed  Hungary. 
There  was  one  woman  who  wanted  and  needed 
more  rights  than  she  had.  Justice  and  law  on  which 
it  is  founded  should  have  protected  her  in  her  own 
house,  but  she  was  sent  forth  a  beggar  in  a  strange 
land,  by  the  European  tyrant  who  was  her  legal 
husband's  creditor.  The  law,  as  it  is  now,  does  no 
harm  or  wrong  to  any  man  or  woman  living,  for 
sober,  temperate,  and  industrious  husbands,  it  does 
not  effect,  and  it  will,  and  has  done  much  good. 
What  would  it  not  have  been  worth,  to  the  toil-worn 
woman  in  question  ? 

The  laws  in  Germany,  with  regard  to  married 
women's  property,  have  been  just  what  they  should 
be,  for  more  than  twenty  years.  Miss  Catherine 


128  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Sedgwick,  who  is  conceded  to  be  a  woman  of  cor- 

O 

rect  judgment,  and  one  whom  nature  has  endowed 
with  a  gift  of  clear  insight,  which  would  be  an  en 
viable   possession   for    any  man    or  woman,  in  her 
travels  abroad  in  1840,  she  writes   from  Germany  : 
"  There  is  one  of  the  rights  of  women  secured  to 
them  here  which  I  have  been  assured  has  an  impor 
tant  effect  on  general  prosperity  and  individual  hap- 
-piness.     The  German  wife  has  an  inextinguishable 
right  to  half  the  joint   property  of  herself  and  her 
husband.     He  cannot  deprive  her  of  it  by  will,  nor 
can  it  be  applied.to  debts  of  his  contracting.     "  This 
it  is,"  said  a  gentleman  to  me,  "that  makes  our  wives 
so  intelligent  in  the  management  of  their  concerns, 
so  industrious  and   economical."     I  don't  know  how 
this  may  be,  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be   but  common 
justice  that  a  wife  should  be  an  equal  partner  in  a 
concern   of  which  she  bears  so  heavy  a  part  of  the 
burden.     Would  not  the  introduction  of  such  a  law 
have  a  beneficient  effect  on  the  laboring  classes  in  the 
United  States  ?     How  many  women  would  be  stimu 
lated  to  ingenuity  and  productive  labor,  if  the  re 
sults  of  their  industry  were  secured  to  them  ?   How 
many  women  are  first  wronged   and  then   disheart 
ened  by  having  an  inheritance  consumed  by  a  hus 
band's  vices  or  dispersed  by.  his  wild  speculations  ? 
How  many  well-qualified  for  respectable  branches  of 
business,  are  deterred  from  attempting  them  by  the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  129 

impossibility  of  securing  to  themselves  and  their 
children,  the  proceeds  ?  How  many  poor  women 
among  the  lowest  class  of  laborers,  have  you  and  I 
both  known,  whose  daily  earnings  have  been  law 
fully  taken  from  them  by  their  brutal  husbands  ? 
This  is  a  pretty  serious  evil,  as  in  that  class,  at  least, 
(you  will  allow  me  to  say),  the  destructive  vices 
are  pretty  much  monopolized  by  your  sex.  It  is 
one  of  our  distinctions,  thank  God,  in  the  New 
World,  that  we  do  not  quietly  rest  in  any  error  ; 
so  I  have  faith  that  in  good  time  this  matter  will  be 
set  right." 

The  United  Colonies  of  this  free  and  happy  Re 
public,  waged  a  seven  years'  war  with  Great  Britain 
in  1776,  upon  the  principle  of  a  declaration  made  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts  in 
1764,  to  the  effect,  "  that  the  imposition  of  duties  and 
taxes  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  upon  a 
people  not  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons,  is 
absolutely  irreconcilable  with  their  rights."  "  If 
we  are  not  represented,  we  are  slaves."  One  of  Eng 
land^  noblest  jurists,  Justice  Pratt,  has  acknowledg 
ed  the  truth  of  this  doctrine  in  the  following  words  : 
"  My  position  is  this.  Taxation  and  representation 
are  inseparable.  The  position  is  founded  in  the  law 
of  nature.  It  is  more  ;  it  is  itself  an  eternal  law  of 
nature."  And  yet  when  they  had  wrested  from  the 
grasp  of  Great  Britain  the  colonies,  because  she 


130  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

would  not  govern  them  upon  this  principle,  and 
undertook  to  organize  them,  most  of  the  colonies 
cut  off  one  half  of  the  people,  that  is,  tlie  women, 
from  any  representation  in  the  government,  but  they 
still  claimed  the  right  to  tax  them  for  its  support, 
and  the  right  to  punish  them  for  disobedience.  They 
were  as  inconsistent  as  the  Puritan  fathers,  who  fled 
from  the  mother  country  on  account  of  religious 
persecution,  and  then  became  themselves  the  perse 
cutors  of  the  Baptists  and  Quakers,  because  they 
did  not  agree  with  them  in  opinion. 

I  can  see  no  justice  in  people  who  have  masters 
to  represent  them  in  everything  else,  being  made  to 
suffer  the  penalty  of  crime.  Less  than  two  years 
ago,  in  a  town  joining  this  one,  a  married  woman 
was  convicted  of  the  crime  of  theft,  and  her  hus 
band  had  the  offer  of  settling  the  offence  by  paying 
the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars.  A  great  deal  of 
sympathy  was  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  public, 
that  the  husband  should  be  required  to  pay  .the 
penalty  of  his  wife's  misconduct.  But  the  woman 
had  no  property  of  her  own.  To  be  sure,  they  had 
acquired  a  large  sum  together,  and  he  had  the  legal 
control  of  the  whole  ;  for,  though  a  husband  and 
wife  are  one,  according  to  law,  that  one  is  the  hus 
band,  with  regard  to  their  joint  earnings,  and  at 
that  time  this  was  true  of  any  personal  property. 
This  case  proved  to  -be  one  of  insanity.  Improve- 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  131 

ments  in  respect  to  the  position  of  women  in  society, 
are  constantly  in  progress,  for  which  let  us  be  thank 
ful.  Every  free  State  in  the  American  Union,  ex 
cept,  perhaps,  two  or  three,  and  one  of  them  is  New 
Jersey,  have  legislated  is  some  way  with  regard  to 
married  women's  separate  control  of  property,  and 
a  few  of  them  have  given  them  their  own  earnings 
after  marriage.  Among  these  are  Massachusetts 
and  New  York.  Kentucky  is  a  little  in  advance  of 
all  of  them  in  one  respect.  She  has  actually  extend 
ed  the  right  of  suffrage  to  women  in  some  educa 
tional  matters.  The  constitutional  convention  of 
Kansas,  too,  voted  within  six,  of  extending  it  with 
out  reserve,  and  expunging  the  word  male  from  the 
Constitution.  Surely  this  is  a  little  in  advance  of 
the  law  that  reads  as  follows, —  this,  I  think,  is,  or 
has  been  a  statute  law  of  the  State  of  Ohio  : —  "  The 
personal  property  of  the  wife,  such  as  money,  goods, 
cattle,  and  other  chattels,  which  she  had  in 
possession  at  the  time  of  her  marriage,  in  her  own 
right  and  not  in  the  right  of  another,  vest  imme 
diately  in  the  husband,  and  he  can  dispose  of  them 
as  he  pleases.  On  his  death  they  go  to  his  re 
presentatives  like  the  residue  of  his  property.  So 
if  any  such  goods  or  chattels  come  to  her  possession 
in  her  own  right  after  the  marriage,  they  in  like 
manner  immediately  vest  in  the  husband."  The  re 
form  from  such  heathenish  laws  as  these  mentioned, 


132  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

to  those  in  a  very  few  States  alone  which  give  to 
the  mother  the  guardianship  of  her  children,  after 
the  death  of  her  husband,  and  the  right  to  the 
avails  of  her  own  toil  while  he  is  living,  with  some 
other  privileges,  which  God  and  nature  intended 
she  should  have  from  the  beginning,  have  all  taken 
place  within  the  last  ten  years.  Surely  the 
millennium  must  be  at  hand.  What  may  we  not 
expect  for  ten  years  to  come  ?  It  is  but  a  few  years 
since  the  State  of  Vermont  confiscated  one  half  the 
property  of  every  childless  widow.  After  death 
had  bereft  her  of  her  husband,  the  State  robbed 
her  of  her  property.  Why  not  apply  this  law  to 
spinsters  who  have  succeeded,  many  of  them,  in  ac 
cumulating  a  competence,  and  it  would  be  equally 
just  for  them  to  give  one  half  their  earnings  for  the 
support  of  State  expenses.  Women  ought  to  be 
very  grateful  for  such  provident  care  of  the  "  sterner 
sex  "  over  their  interests.  Being  thankful  for  small 
favors  is  a  good  maxim,  for  if  that  were  not  observed, 
some  classes  would  have  to  cease  to  be  thankful  at 
all.  Only  think  of  a  State  legislature  assembling 
every  winter,  many  of  them  composed  of  men  of 
the  vilest  character,  living  luxuriously  on  roast  beef, 
plum-pudding  and  champagne  at  the  first  class 
hotels,  drawing  enormous  pay  and  expending  it 
with  a  reckless  extravagance,  which  would  put  to 
blush  the  veriest  spend-thrift  in  our  streets,  and  that 
at  the  expense  of  poor  childless  widows.  Perhaps 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  133 

a  large  share  of  it  was  earned  with  their  own  hands 
with  the  smallest  remuneration.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  says  that  some  folks  think  when  things  go 
awry,  if  there  is  a  God  he  must  be  in  heaven  and  not 
on  earth.  It  would  seem  so  sometimes.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  our  New  York  State  legislature  did  not  have 
any  widow's  funds  to  expend,  when  they  went  off  on  a 
jollification  to  Blackwell's  Island  and  got  drunk. 
It  was  well  for  them  they  occupied  honorable  posi 
tions  in  society,  or  perhaps  they  would  have  been 
sent  to  Blackwell's  Island  for  a  term  of  months. 
Our  own  country  is  blessed  in  these  respects  above 
many  others ;  I  mean  in  reforms  in  behalf  of  those 
women  who  depend  on  their  labor  for  a  living.  Miss 
Catherine  Beecher  has  written  a  book  entitled,  "  The 
true  remedy  for  the  wrongs  of  woman."  On  the 
thirty-fifth  page  she  quotes  from  an  author  not 
designated  in  her  work ;  and  at  the  close  of  her  ex 
tract,  which  is  quite  lengthly,  she  says,  "  These 
statements  were  made  by  a  writer  who  was  aiming 
to  show  that  the  establishment  of  manufactories 
was  to  be  the  remedy  for  these  evils." 

"  The  distressed  needle-women  of  London  have 
been  made  the  object  of  a  commission  of  inquiry ; 
and  thirty-three  thousand  women  permanently  at 
the  starvation  point,  and  working  at  wages  of  a  few 
pence  a  day,  are  ascertained  to  be  lingering  out  a 
wretched  existence  in  that  city." 
12 


134  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

"  Another  of  the  results  may  be  learned  from  the 
report  of  the  parliamentary  commission  on  the 
collieries.  It  is  there  stated  that  thousands  of  fe 
males  of  every  age,  from  childhood  to  premature  old 
age,  were  toiling  deep  in  the  English  mines,  often  in 
nudity  and  promiscuously  with  boys  and  men  !" 

"  The  dens  of  infamy  in  English  cities,  and  the 
transport  ships  filled  with  female  convicts,  many  of 
whom  committed  crime  to  secure  food  even  in 
prison,  are  other  results  of  that  English  system  of 
civilization." 

Well  could  Sidney  Smith  say,  "  We  are  a 
spectacle  to  gods  and  men.  Savages  grow  up  in 
our  midst,  wilder,  more  forlorn,  more  forgotten,  and 
more  neglected,  than  the  earth-eaters  of  New 
Holland  !  " 

"  New  England,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is  fast  follow 
ing  the  example  of  England.  Manufactures  and 
commerce  have  taken  the  precedence  of  agriculture. 
There  are  few  inducements  for  young  men  to  re 
main,  and  the  young  women  cannot  get  away.  The 
excess  of  the  latter  over  the  former  is  increasing 
every  year,  and  we  fear  that  the  standard  of  labor 
is  every  day  becoming  less  and  less  elevated.  Fe 
males  are  driven  out  of  Ireland,  and  bid  lowest  for 
places  in  the  New  England  factory.  They  can  work 
at  low  wages,  because  they  are  content  with  the 
bare  necessaries  of  life." 


AXD  RECOLLECTIONS.  135 

My  letter  on  the  "  rights  "  and  "  wrongs  "  of 
woman  has  been  lengthened  beyond  my  expectations 
when  I  commenced,  and  I  fear  your  patience  will 
be  quite  exhausted  reading  it.  By  this  time  I  pre 
sume  you  have  discovered  my  reasons  for  a  change 
of  opinion.  My  remedy  for  her  wrongs,  with  re 
gard  to  laws  respecting  the  disposal  of  her  property, 
would  be  in  the  ballot-box,  and  a  reform  would  not 
be  very  speedily  accomplished  without  her  own  in 
fluence  there ;  and  in  this  you  will  discover  my 
reason  for  thinking  that  she  ought  to  have  the  right 
to  vote.  Employments  of  any  and  every  description 
ought  to  be  open  to  women  and  men  indiscriminate 
ly.  Some  men  would  make  good  milliners,  and  some 
women  good  farmers  and  mechanics.  I  will  close 
by  quoting  what  a  writer  in  a  literary  magazine 
says  of  Miss  Weber,  and  from  which  Miss  Beecher 
extracts.  Her  sentiments  I  cannot  see  any  fault  in. 
"  Miss  Helena  Maria  Weber,  a  young  Belgian  lady, 
stands  preeminent  among  the  advocates  of  Woman's 
Rights  of  the  present  day.  A  noted  French  critic, 
who  is  by  no  means  friendly  to  the  cause  in  which 
Miss  Weber  is  engaged,  confesses  that,  "  she  pos 
sesses  the  highest  order  of  intellect,  and  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  social  and  political  economy.  Miss 
Weber's  style  is  sententious,  vigorous  and  graceful, 
with  a  dash  of  quiet  humor  sufficient  to  relax  the 
gravity  of  the  surliest  old  bachelor  in  the  world. 


136 


PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 


Her  essays  appear  to  cover  the  whole  ground  in 
dispute.  She  claims  the  right  of  women  to  enjoy 
the  elective  franchise,  to  fill  every  description  of 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  offices,  to  hold  their  own 
property  independent  of  their  husbands,  to  have  a 
full  moiety  of  domestic  authority,  to  dress  without 
restriction  as  to  form  of  garments,  and  to  be  the 
compeers,  instead  of  the  '  legal  slaves '  of  their  hus 
bands." 


LETTEE  XVII. 

A  few  more  "  last  words"  on  Woman's  Rights,  Dr.  Franklin's  Dis 
cussion  —  First  Advocate  of  Woman's  Rights  —  Women's  Educa 
tion —  The  fable  of  the  Cat  and  the  Bat  —  Extracts  from  my 
Diary  —  Pedagogues  —  Extracts  from  Johnson  —  Anecdote  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  &c. 

MY  DEAR  F  :— 

A  few  more  "  last  words  "  on  this  subject ;  I  see, 
in  looking  over  my  last  letter,  I  have  left  out  some 
things  which  ought  to  have  been  written,  notwith 
standing  the  length  of  it.  The  education  of  females 
has  been  neglected ;  until  a  few  years  ago,  it  was 
not  thought  necessary  for  girls  to  be  taught  beyond 
the  bare  acquisition  of  reading  and  writing.  This 
was  honestly  considered  enough,  for  all  the  practical 
purposes  of  life  they  would  have  occasion  to  put  in 
requisition.  No  longer  ago  than  Dr.  Franklin's 
time,  his  memoirs  written  by  himself,  give  an  ac 
count  of  a  public  discussion  he  held  in  Philadelphia 
with  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Collins,  on  the 
subject  of  female  education.  Young  Collins  took 
the  ground  that  females  did  not  need  an  education 
at  alL  Both  sides  undoubtedly  had  its  advocates, 
11* 


138  PERSONAL     SKETCHES 

besides  the  two  young  disputants,  but  the  probabili 
ties  are,  that  Dr.  Franklin  was  as  much  in  advance 
of  his  age,  on  that  subject,  as  he  was  on  many 
others.  He  was  undoubtedly  the  first  advocate  of 
"  Woman's  Rights"  in  the  United  States,  and  to  this 
very  thing  (education)  we  owe  our  advancement  in 
the  direction  of  corrected  public  sentiment  on  this 
subject ;  this,  after  all,  is  the  great  elevator  of  the 
human  race. 

After  a  lapse  of  a  hundred  years,  but  very  few 
remain  who  can  in  truth  be  said  to  belong 
to  Collins's  school,  but  there  are  still  a  for 
midable  army  of  those  who  have  been  convinced 
that  women  have  a  right  to  be  educated  ;  but  deny 
her  right  to  put  her  education  to  any  practical  use. 
After  being  driven  from  one  corner,  they  have  found 
another.  Excuse  me,  dear  F.,  for  introducing 
another  one  of  Bolmar's  Fables  here,  and  you  may 
make  your  own  application  of  it,  as  well  as  what 
else  has  been  written  on  this  tangled  subject.  I 
have  always  had  a  passion  for  fables,  and  they  often 
illustrate  clearly  what  we  fail  of  doing  in  any  other 
way,  "The  Cat  and  Bat." 

A  cat  having  been  taken  in  a  net,  promised  to  a 
rat,  which  had  delivered  him  from  it,  to  eat  no  more 
either  rats  or  mice.  It  happened  one  day,  that  he 
caught  a  bat  in  a  barn.  The  cat  was  at  first  em 
barrassed  ;  but  a  moment  after,  he  said  :  I  dare  not 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  139 

eat  thee  as  a  mouse,  but  I  will  eat  thee  as  a  bird. 
With  this  conscientious  distinction,  he  made  of  it  a 
good  repast. 

Moral.  —  Persons  of  bad  faith  are  never  at  a  loss 
for  pretexts  or  reasons  to  justify  their  injustice. 

My  notes,  dear  F.,  are  somewhat  lengthy,  but  I 
crave  your  patience  while  I  proceed  with  my  diary 
commenced  with  my  last  letter. 

Thursday,  Jan.  6th. — Before  school  this  morning, 
read  an  hour  in  Johnson's  Economy  of  Health, 
where  I  found  the  following :  "  He  who  cultivates 
the  brains  of  pupils,  whether  male  or  female,  has 
often  a  most  ungrateful  task  to  perform.  To  expect 
a  good  crop  of  science  or  literature  from  some  intel 
lects,  is  about  as  hopeless  as  to  expect  olives  to 
thrive  on  the  craggy  summits  of  Ben  Nevis,  or  the 
pine  apple  to  expand  amid  the  glaciers  of  Grindel- 
wald.  Yet  from  these  sterile  regions  of  mind,  the 
hapless  pedagogue  is  expected  by  parents,  to  turn 
out  Miltons,  Lockes  and  Newtons,  with  as  much  fa 
cility  as  a  gardener  raises  cauliflowers  from  rich  al 
luvial  grounds." 

Here  is  a  sympathy  for  us  poor  pedagogues,  that 
is  really  refreshing  ;  and  by  me  it  is  thankfully  ap 
preciated.  This  is  the  same  Dr.  Johnson  of  whom 
I  heard  an  anecdote  some  years  since.  Just  before 
his  marriage,  he  remarked  to  his  intended  bride  that 
there  was  one  thing  relative  to  his  family  connexions, 


140  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

which  he  had  never  told  her,  that  she  ought  to  know 
before  they  were  married ;  that  was  that  he  had  an 
uncle  once  who  was  hung.  With  perfect  indiffer 
ence  she  replied  that  she  had  not  any  relation  hung, 
but  that  she  had  fifty  who  ought  to  be. 

Jan.  1th. — This  evening  attended  a  ball  at  Mas- 
sey's  Hotel,  on  Factory  street,  in  honor  of  Jackson's 
victory  at  the  famous  battle  of  New  Orleans,  which 
occurred  Jan.  8,  1815.  How  different  the  scene,  in 
the  gay,  happy,  and  thoughtless  crowd  of  the  assem 
bly  rV)om,  from  that  enacted  on  the  bloody  plains  of 
Chalmette,  twenty-seven  years  before.  The  one  is 
illuminated  with  a  splendor  of  brilliant  astrals,  and 
light  feet  trip  at  the  sound  of  sprightly  music,  with 
a  buoyant,  elastic  step,  while  busy  hands  in  the 
basement,  are  preparing  a  feast  of  delicate  viands,  to 
tempt  pampered  appetites.  The  young  and  happy 
are  here.  Fair  forms  exquisitely  moulded  and  dec 
orated  with  "  purple  and  fine  linen,"  flit  through  the 
room  like  phantoms.  Fickle  fortune  has  not  yet  set 
tled  upon  their  brows  her  sombre  shadows.  The 
whole  scene  is  characterized  with  wit,  love  and  joy- 
ousness,  undimmed  with  the  faintest  conception  of 
the  scene  of  misery  and  death,  at  the  "  splendid  vic 
tory  "  they  celebrate.  There  the  cold  ground  was 
strewed  with  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  dying  sol 
diery.  The  fierce  rage  of  angry  battle  mingled  with 
the  groans  of  the  wounded,  are  the  only  sounds  that 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  141 

greet  the  ear.  Coarse,  stalwart  arms  deal  death 
blows  to  the  enemy,  and  among  all  these  disgusting 
scenes  of  human  wretchedness  in  its  last  extremity, 
no  one  moves  with  love  and  pity,  and  softened  voice, 
to  speak  words  of  comfort,  or  wipe  the  death-sweat 
from  agonized  brows.  No  sound  of  prayer  is  waft 
ed  from  this  great  death-bed,  in  behalf  of  erring  and 
sinful  humanity,  save  from  the  lips  of  the  suffering 
themselves.  Many  a  heroic  spirit  passed  away,  and 
history  has  put  on  record,  in  letters  of  blood,  what 
the  world  calls  their  gallant  deeds.  There,  at  the 
point  of  the  sword,  they  found  the  grave  of  all  earth 
ly  hopes  and  aspirations.  In  the  resurrection  state 
they  shall  neither  hunger  or  thirst,  weep  or  die  any 
more. 

"  Our  bugles  sang  truce,  for  the  night-cloud  had  lowered, 

And  the  sentinel  stars  set  their  watch  in  the  sky, 

And  thousands  had  sunk  on  the  ground  overpowered, 

The  weary  to  sleep  and  the  wounded  to  die." 


Feb.  14tfA.  —  Valentine's  Day.  —  The  old  saint  has 
been  pretty  busy  here,  depositing  his  missions  of 
love  and  hate  in  the  Post  Office,  for  silly  boys  and 
girls,  and  here  I  may  as  well  throw  away  my  pen, 
for  if  I  knew  all  the  emotions  of  the  "  tender  pas 
sion,"  and  of  anger  he  has  aroused,  I  could  not  make 
a  record  of  them,  for  they  are  unspeakable,  and  will 
always  have  to  remain  unwritten.  The  English  lan 
guage  has  long  ago  been  exhausted  in  the  attempt. 


--  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Commence  school  again  to-day,  after  having  a 
vacation  of  a  whole  month,  spent  travelling  and  vis 
iting  friends  in  Ogdensburgh,  Canton,  Potsdam  and 
Champion.  A  most  delightful  trip.  Had  a  sleigh- 
ride  almost  every  day,  and  spent  nearly  every  even 
ing  in  the  social  circle,  and  attended  church  every 
Sabbath.  Enjoyed  company  more  especially  at 
Canton  ;  here  I  found  the  young  people  intelligent, 
well-informed  and  courteous  ;  and  in  literary  attain 
ments  quite  in  advance  of  their  size  I  have  ever  be 
come  acquainted.  Dancing  and  dress  are  not  the 
height  of  their  aspirations. 

Feb.  2.4th.  —  This  evening  attended  a  party  at 
Mrs.  Leig's ;  the  entertainment  was  thoroughly 
German,  and  the  appearance  of  everything  was  so 
anti-American,  furniture,  dress,  eccentricities  of 
manners,  and  table,  that  it  very  forcibly  reminded 
me  of  Washington  Irving's  description  of  a  Dutch 
tea-party,  though  their  bill  of  fare  included  almost 
every  variety  of  dish  embraced  in  the  skill  of  the 
culinary  art,  from  the  solids,  like  ham  and  fish,  to 
the  most  delicate  pastry.  Of  the  one  he  attended 
he  says  :  "  The  tea  table  was  crowned  with  a  huge 
earthen  dish,  well  stored  with  slices  of  fat  pork,  fried 
brown,  cut  up  into  morsels  and  swimming  in  gravy. 
The  company  being  seated  round  the  genial  board, 
and  each  furnished  with  a  fork,  evinced  their  dex 
terity  in  launching  at  the  fattest  pieces  in  this 
mighty  dish,  in  much  the  same  manner  as  sailors 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  143 

harpoon   porpoises    at   sea,    or    our   Indians    spear 
salmon  in  the  lakes." 

Sunday,  Qth  March. — After  church  read  in  John 
son's  "  Economy  of  Health,"  his  ideas  of  courtship. 
Whether  true  or  not  they  have  the  merit  of  being 
original.  "  My  own  opinion  is,  that,  were  the 
whole  of  the  adult  population  registered  as  theyv 
come  of  age,  and  each  person,  male  or  female,  drew 
a  name  out  of  the  urn,  and  thus  rendered  matrimo 
ny  a  complete  lottery,  the  sum  total  of  happiness, 
misery,  or  content,  would  be  nearly,  if  not  exactly 
the  same  as  upon  the  present  principle  of  selection. 
This,  at  first  sight  will  appear  a  most  startling  prop 
osition,  but  the  closer  we  examine  it  the  less  extrava 
gant  it  will  be  found.  Courtship  is  a  state  of  war 
fare,  the  art  and  'principles  of  which  are  diligently 
studied,  and  vigilantly  exercised,  during  the  whole 
of  that  interesting  period  of  life.  Each  party  care 
fully  conceals  the  weak  points,  and  prominently  por 
trays  the  strong,  the  amiable,  and  the  beautiful. 
Add  to  this  system  of  intentional  deception,  the  fact 
that  Love  is  blind,  and  therefore  cannot  see  defects ! 
What  is  matrimony,  then,  but  a  lottery  in  which 
many  draw  blanks,  or  worse,  when  they  expect 
great  prizes." 

Feb.  16tfA. — Spent  the  forenoon  in  school,  and  af 
ternoon  attended  the  sewing  society  at  Mrs.  Slier- 
man's  ;  in  the  evening  a  lecture  on  the  social  desti 
ny  of  man,  by  Mr.  Watson.  His  theory  is  a  good 


144  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

one,  but  mankind  will  have  to  be  nearer  perfect  than 
they  are  now,  before  it  can  be  carried  into  practice. 
Fourierism  will  do  to  talk  about,  and  set  people's 
ideas  to  work  planning  for  the  "good  time  coming," 
but  before  the  principle  of  it  can  be  acted  upon,  self 
ishness  will  have  to  be  stricken  from  the  human  or 
ganism.  That  will  make  a  superior  race  of  beings 
of  us,  and  we  shall  have  to  be  transferred  to  anoth 
er  planet. 

March  Zbth. — At  eight  o'clock  P.  M.,  attended  a 
lecture  on  Elocution,  at  the  Baptist  church,  by  Prof. 
Whitney.  His  specimens  of  oratory  were  soul-stir 
ring.  His  speech  in  the  character  of  Moloch  at  the 
gates  of  heaven,  as  described  by  Milton,  also,  the 
dream  of  Richard  Third,  were  admirably  performed. 

March  29tfA. — Twenty-one  years  old  to-day.  In 
honor  of  the  event  Mrs.  W.  made  me  a  large  party 
in  the  evening.  A}1  seemed  to  enjoy  it  well.  This 
is  what  the  boys  call  their  freedom-day.  Yes,  it  is 
"  freedom-day,"  for  me.  I  have  the  freedom  of  the 
slave  of  the  school-room.  But  then,  there  is  worse 
slavery  than  that. 

Monday,  April  \\th. — Commenced  a  five  months' 
school  this  morning,  in  Pamelia  village.  Had  twen 
ty-eight  scholars,  all  strange  faces.  One  little  girl 
about  two  and  a  half  years  of  age,  read  the  alphabet 
after  me  very  much  as  the  author  of  the  book  called 
"  The  District  School  as  it  Was,"  described  one  of 
his  pupils  about  the  same  age,  reading  it,  "  A-er, 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS. 


145 


B-er,  C-er."     Her  older  sister  helped  "  Tot  "   down 
off  from  the  seat,  and  then  she  fell  down.     I  wish 
the  parents  of  babies  of  that  age,  would  send  a  bottle 
of  milk  and  a  crib  ;  that  would  furnish  me  better  fa 
cilities   for  acting  in  the  double  capacity  of  nurse 
and   teacher.     Here   I   have  a   large,  nice  school- 
house  built  of  stone,  and  in  a  lovely  place,  but  every 
thing   seems   strange  ;  so   different   from  the  quiet 
chamber  at  Mrs.  Woodruffs,  with  five  pupils  only. 
13 


LETTER 


Village  School  —  My  Patrons  —  Boarding  around  —  Conflicting  Ad 
vice  —  General  Remarks  with  regard  to  Teaching  —  Nature  of 
Children  not  naturally  Depraved  —  One  case  of  Perverseness  — 

..  Speech  to  Scholars  —  Perplexities  of  the  Business  of  Teaching. 

MY  DEAR  F  :  — 

The  school  I  mentioned  commencing  in  my  last, 
increased  in  numbers  until  I  had  over  sixty  scholars, 
and  they  were  of  as  varied  ages  and  acquirements 
as  any  one  would  expect  to  find  in  half  a  dozen 
schools,  under  the  present  improved  system  of  grad 
ing,  as  they  do  in  most  public  schools  in  villages. 

My  patrons  consisted  of  thirty  different  families, 
whose  circumstances  and  literary  attainments  would 
admit  of  as  many  different  grades  as  their  children. 
In  all  these  families  I  was  expected  to  board,  for  in 
those  unpretending  and  economical  times,  no  other 
way  had  ever  been  thought  of  but  for  poor  school 
teachers  to  "  board  around."  The  burden  of  board 
ing,  must  be  divided  up  among  the  whole  district  ; 
no  matter  how  much  inconvenience  the  teacher  suf- 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  147 

fered  by  moving  quarters  every   few  days.     I  fear 
that  some  families  boarded  me  more  than  their  share, 
for  I  distinctly  remember  of  staying  a  great  while  in 
some  places.     This  village  is  the  same  as  a  part  of 
Watertown,  for  they  are  only  separated  by  Black 
River.     Although  my  labors  had  changed  and  be 
come  more  arduous,  my  associates  were  the  same 
and  but  a  little  longer  walk  to  church  on    the   Sab 
bath.     To  recount  all  the  ups  and  downs  of  my  ex 
perience  in  this  large  and  difficult  school  to  govern, 
would  be  only  a  needless  repetition  of  what  has  oc 
curred  in   thousands  of  instances,  both  before  and 
since,  with  other  teachers.    If  good  advice  is  valua 
ble  to  a  teacher,  I  must  have  been  richly  benefitted, 
for  as  many  and  contradictory  suggestions  were  of 
fered  me  gratis,  as  the  number  of  those  who  interest 
ed  themselves  in  my  welfare.     All  of  them  I  endeav 
ored  to  listen  to  with  becoming  interest,  but  as  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  heed  all  of  their  counsel, 
which  was  bestowed  with  the  best  intention,  the  only 
remaining  course  was  to  act  in  a  way  that  seemed 
to  me  right ;  indeed,  that  was  in  accordance  with 
the  instructions  of  the  trustees  who  employed  me. 

As  far  as  my  limited  observation  will  allow  me  to 
express  an  opinion,  I  have  found  that  the  judgment 
of  people  who  have  never  engaged  in  teaching  "  the 
young  idea  how  to  shoot,"  appears  far  more  discrim 
inating  when  exercised  on  other  subjects,  than  when 


148  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

brought  to  bear  on  the  subtleties  of  the  varied 
phases  of  human  nature  of  the  "  young  America  " 
of  the  school-room. 

And  yet  the  opinions  of  such  are  thrust  in  the 
face  of  the  perplexed  pedagogue,  with  less  reserve 
than  they  would  be,  had  actual  experience  given 
them  more  knowledge.  There  is  not  halfthe  deprav 
ity  in  the  nature  of  children  as  some  would  have  us 
believe,  and  the  old  New  England  catechism  taught- 
With  the  thirteen  terms  of  school  I  have  taught,  in 
which  I  have  probably  instructed  five  hundred  dif 
ferent  pupils,  I  never  had  but  one  case  of  wilful  dis 
obedience.  This  was  in  a  lad  about  twelve  years  of 
age,  in  the  very  school  in  question.  He  had  become 
somewhat  notorious  for  his  bad  conduct  generally, 
and  every  teacher  who  had  preceded  me,  had 
trouble  with  him.  Of  this  I  was  forewarned  by 
several  individuals,  and  among  them  was  his  own 
mother.  She  fully  realized  the  extent  of  his  per- 
verseness  and  the  necessity  of  severe  discipline.  The 
first  week  of  school,  I  studied  his  nature  as  close  as 
I  was  capable,,  and  tried  to  make  a  good  application 
of  all  the  rules  of  government  laid  down  in  Jacob 
Abbott's  practical  work  on  teaching.  There  must 
be  some  way  thought  I,  of  getting  on  the  right  side 
of  this  wilful  boy.  At  last  I  hit  upon  a  plan,  which 
I  ventured  to  experiment  on,  though  with  some 
fears  that  it  would  result  in  more  evil  than  good. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  149 

The  first  Saturday  evening  before  I  dismissed 
school,  I  took  occasion  to  make  some  remarks,  with 
regard  to  future  arrangements,  in  essentially  the 
following  language  : 

"  Children,  I  cannot  let  you  go  home  without  tell 
ing  you  how  well  I  have  been  pleased  with  your  be 
havior  'this  week.  Among  so  many  of  you  I  should 
hardly  have  reason  to  expect  that  all  were  good  boys 
and  girls.  In  fact,  I  was  told  that  this  would  be  a 
hard  school  to  govern,  and  one  was  pointed  out  to 
me  as  a  very  bad  boy.  I  did  not  believe  a  word  of 
it,  for  I  never  had  a  bad  boy  go  to  school  to  me, 
and  now  I  know  it  isn't  true,  for  he  has  been  to 
school  every  day  and  behaved  like  a  gentleman ; 
even  better  than  some  who  have  the  reputation  of 
being  always  in  the  right  place.  The  reason  I  did 
not  believe  the  report  of  this  boy's  character,  was 
because  he  looked  like  an  honest  lad,  who  always 
tries  to  do  as  he  would  be  done  by.  There  is  not  a 
scholar  before  me,  at  least  not  one  who  is  old  enough 
to  be  here,  who  does  not  know  the  difference  be 
tween  a  good  and  a  mean  action.  So  I  shall  not 
trouble  you  with  a  long  list  of  rules  hard  to  remem 
ber,  and  harder  to  practice,  but  I  simply  ask  you  to 
do  right,  and  I  will  do  the  best  I  can  to  help  you. 
When  scholars  get  into  difficulty  with  their  teacher 
or  one  another,  it  is  never  done  by  good  behavior. 
You  never  heard  of  such  a  thing.  Neither  have 
you  ever  heard  people  older  than  yourselves  say 
they  were  sorry  for  having  studied  too  much  while 
they  were  young  ;  but  I'll  venture  to  say,  you  have 
all  heard  grown  up  men  and  women  say  they  re 
gretted  having  spent  their  time  so  foolishly  while 
young,  and  not  learned  more.  Please  think  over 

13* 


150  PERSONAL     SKETCHES. 

what  I  have  said  and  see  if  it  is  not  the  right  way 
to  act,  and  let  me  know  what  you  think  about  it 
next  week." 

There  was  not  a  child  in  the  school-room,  not  ex 
cepting  himself,  who  did  not  know  who  the  bad  boy 
was.  My  nattering  words  had  a  charming  effect  on 
him,  and  completely  disarmed  him  for  a  while  ;  his 
deportment  was  every  way  correct,  until  school  was 
about  half  done  ;  the  force  of  long-continued  habits 
of  disobedience  got  the  mastery  of  him,  and  in  an 
evil  hour  he  put  at  defiance  my  authority.  I 
punished  him  severely,  but  I  now  believe  it  did  him 
more  harm  than  good.  His  parents  took  him  from 
me  and  sent  him  to  a  man's  school,  where  the 
disciplinary  agent  was  fear.  He  was  the  first  and 
last  scholar  I  ever  punished  severely ;  but  I  will  not 
pretend  that  every  day  of  my  long  and  monotonous 
labor  of  school-teaching  passed  off  smoothly  ;  for  I 
felt  sometimes  so  worn  down  with  exhausting  cares, 
and  petty  annoyances,  that  they  have  almost  driven 
me  from  the  field  in  despair  ;  and  many  is  the  time 
I  have  resolved  never  to  go  into  another  school  if  I 
could  get  out  of  this  one  alive  ;  but  I  never  left  a 
school  without  completing  the  time  I  commenced 
for ;  and  often  staid  longer  than  I  was  engaged.  If 
this  letter  is  interesting,  or  in  any  way  beneficial  to 
teachers,  its  object  will  have  been  accomplished,  for 
to  others  I  have  no  expectations  of  its  having  any 
interest. 


LETTER  XIX. 

School  in  Champion  —  Copy  of  my  call  to  go  there  —  Extracts 
from  my  Diary  —  City  of  the  dead  —  Deer  River  Falls,  Copen 
hagen,  Lewis  Co.  —  Rev.  Mr.  Dutton's  family  of  Silk-worms  — 
Habits  of  this  insect — Study  of  the  French  language  —  Marriage 
of  Mr.  M.  —  Poor  Preaching,  &c. 

MY  DEAK  F  :  — 

In  a  previous  letter,  I  have  spoken  of  teaching  in 
Champion  Village,  this  was  my  vacation  term  from 
the  two  years  family  school.  To  give  you  an  idea 
of  how  much  was  expected  of  me,  and  for  your 
amusement,  I  send  you  the  copy  verbatim  of  my 
call  to  go  there,  by  one  of  the  trustees  who  was  a 
clergyman. 

Champion,  April  26^,  1841. 

Miss  MILES  :  —  The  trustees  of  this  school  dis 
trict  have  finally  agreed  that  it  is  best  to  have  a 
school  this  summer,  and  in  accordance  with  your 
previous  talk  with  Col.  Goldsmid,  would  say  to  you, 
that  it  is  our  wish  to  have  you  engage  in  it. 

We  wish  to  have  the  school  commence  on  Mon 
day  next,  and  if  we  are  suited,  shall  want  it  to  con 
tinue  five  months.  We  expect  to  pay  you  $1.50 
per  week. 


152  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

I  am  not  particularly  acquainted  with  your 
literary  qualification,  but  from  Avhat  I  do  know,  I 
am  satisfied  that  they  are  all  that  is  necessary  for 
our  school.  Our  school  will  probably  number  from 
thirty-five  to  forty,  and  if  we  have  a  remarkably 
good  school,  perhaps  fifty.  We  want  the  best 
school  in  the  county,  and  shall  expect  you,  if  you 
engage  in  it,  to  devote  yourself  wholly  to  the  w^rk 
of  instructing  the  children,  and  improving  the 
school.  You  must,  if  you  would  please  the  district, 
(which  I  hope  you  will  succeed  in  doing)  pay  a 
good  deal  of  attention  to  the  children ;  you  must 
notice  them  when  you  meet  them  in  the  street,  and 
endeavor  by  every  means  in  your  power  to  make 
them  love  you,  and  then  your  school  will  prosper. 

I  have  heard  one  individual  express  a  fear,  that 
you  had  lived  in  Watertown  so  long,  that  you  had 
perhaps  become  too  much  of  a  village  lady  to  notice 
country  children.  I  mention  this,  that  you  may 
know  the  importance  of  doing  the  fair  thing  by  the 
"  little  folks."  You  will  find  us  a  peculiar  set  of 
people,  but  if  you  teach  us  a  good  school,  we  shall 
treat  you  as  well  as  we  know  how.  I  write  as  I  do, 
because  of  my  acquaintance  with  you,  and  also  be 
cause  I  had  much  experience  myself  in  the  business 
of  teaching  ;  and  by  way  of  caution,  I  would  say, 
by  all  means  avoid  the  character  of  a  "•  flirt," 
"  belle,"  or  "  coquette,"  though  I  believe  these 
names  do  not  apply  to  your  character,  unless  you 
have  changed  wonderfully  since  I  was  acquainted 
with  you. 

And  I  will  add  further,  that  if  you  come  to  reside 
among  us,  you  must  calculate  upon  being  watched, 
and  all  your  conduct  and  every  action  closely  scruti 
nized  ;  such  is  the  lot  of  every  teacher,  as  I,  my 
self,  know  full  well  by  a  long  experience. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  153 

We  expect  you  will  "  board  round,"  and  we  hope 
that  you  will  give  to  each  and  all,  the  honor  and 
respect  that  is  their  just  clue  ;  that  all  may  be  well 
satisfied  with  our  selection  of  an  instructor. 

We  shall  expect  an  answer  per  return  of  mail, 
and  you  will  please  signify  in  your  reply,  whether 
in  the  present  state  of  the  roads  you  would  prefer  a 
private  conveyance  to  the  stage.  If  so,  I  will  see 
that  you  are  accommodated  on  Friday  or  Saturday 
of  this  week. 

In  extreme  haste,  I  am,  yours,  &c., 

H . 

This  letter  almost  frightened  me  out  of  the  hope 
of  pleasing  them,  but  with  "  fear  and  trembling," 
I  went  aboard  "  Uncle  Sam's  "  four-horse  express, 
which  left  me  at  the  door  of  the  only  hotel  in  the 
quiet  little  village.  The  good  clergyman  was  soon 
on  hand,  and  led  the  way  to  his  residence,  where  I 
tried  to  feel  at  home.  This  "  peculiar  set  of  peo 
ple  "  were  not  long  getting  acquainted  with  their 
new  school  ma'am,  and  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe  their  fears  were  only  in  imagination  with  re 
gard  to  the  "  village  lady's  haughtiness."  I  had  a 
right  also  to  infer  that  they  were  "  suited "  with 
the  school,  for  at  the  expiration  of  the  five  months, 
they  engaged  my  services  another  month  ;  and  in 
stead  of  the  fifty  scholars  they  were  to  have,  in  case 
of  a  "  remarkably  good  school,"  there  were  sixty* 
twenty  of  them  in  the  alphabet,  and  from  that,  all 
ages  up  to  older  than  myself. 


154  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

A  few  more  hurried  extracts  from  my  diary  of 
these  times  and  I  close  this  subject : 

Sunday,  April  25th.  After  church,  took  a  stroll 
in  burying-ground.  "  How  still  and  peaceful  is  the 
grave."  What  a  medley  of  sensations  crowd  into 
the  mind  while  wandering  through  the  paths  of  the 
silent  "  city  of  the  dead."  To  the  regions  of  the 
unreturning  past,  fancy  wanders  back,  and  these 
little  infants,  smiling  buds  of  promise,  sit  in  rosy 
health  upon  the  mother's  knee.  Away  back  in  the 
dim  memory  of  years  gone  by,  resting  under  the 
way  side  tree,  sits  a  poor  beggar  with  shrivelled 
cheeks,  countenance  pale  and  wan,  and  the  little 
dirty  bundle  by  his  side  contains  his  all.  He  has 
found  rest*  here,  too,  by  the  side  of  the  millionare, 
who,  perhaps,  had  driven  him  from  his  door.  These 
scenes  do  not  suggest  wholly  melancholy  thoughts ; 
it  is  a  joy  to  know  that  every  evil  of  the  present 
life  is  excluded  from  the  future.  It  gives  me  no 
pain  to  tread  on  the  green  roof  of  that  narrow 
mansion  I  must  soon  inhabit.  As  much  of  joy  and 
beauty  as  there  is  in  this  world,  there  is  more  in 
heaven.  In  this  faith  let  us  live  and  endure  the 
brief  trials  of  earth. 

Saturday,  August  7th. — Out  of  school  for  one 
day.  Feel  like  an  uncaged  bird.  Rode  up  to 
Copenhagen,  Lewis  County,  with  Mr.  C.  and  his 
eiste.1  to  see  Deer  River  Falls.  There  seems  to  be 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS.  155 

plenty  of  water  in  the  river,  but  it  is  shrunk  up  so 
narrow  between  two  ledges  of  rocks  that  it  is  almost 
lost,  and  one  can  easily  step  across  it  above  the  falls. 
The  water  falls  to  a  great  depth — nearly  two  hun 
dred  feet,  and  the  scenery  in  the  vicinity  of  this 
singular  river  is  at  once  wild  and  beautiful. 

Monday,  August  $th. — After  school,  was  invited 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Button  to  see  his  silk-worms.  It  is  a 
great  curiosity  to  witness  the  different  degrees  of 
development  of  this  wonderful  little  insect.  Some 
were  winding  their  balls;  these  were  beautiful 
straw  color.  The  moth  is  not  allowed  to  be  formed 
in  the  cocoons  designed  for  use,  for  in  bursting  its 
prison-house,  the  threads  of  the  silky  texture  would 
be  broken.  They  are  exposed  to  the  heat  of  a  fur 
nace,  and  the  poor  little  insect  is  burned  to  death  in 
the  little  silky  edifice,  its  ingenuity  has  constructed. 
One  good  sized  cocoon  yields  a  thousand  feet  of  silk 
fibre.  This  information  ^,vas  obtained  from  their 
clerical  owner,  who  seemed  very  happy  in  relating 
the  process  of  completion  of  their  labors.  Their 
eating  was  accompanied  with  a  clicking  sound,  which 
is  perpetual,  day  and  night,  until  they  get  to  maturi 
ty  ;  except  at  short  intervals,  during  the  periods  of 
changing  its  skin,  which  occurs  four  or  five  times  in 
the  two  months  of  its  maturing.  It  is  then  three 
inches  in  length. 

August  25th. — It  seems  to  me  that  the  round  of 


156  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

school-room  duties  is  endless.  This  evening  com 
menced  the  study  of  the  French  language.  My 
books  are  Bolmar's  Fables,  Levizacs  Grammar,  and 
Meadow's  Dictionary.  Teacher,  Mr.  Dorwin, 
Principal  of  the  Academy  of  the  village  of  Cham 
pion. 

August  8QtL — To-day,  Col.  Goldsmid  offered  to 
assist  me  in  studying  French.  With  two  such  com 
petent  instructors  it  will  be  my  own  fault  if  I  do  not 
succeed.  This  evening  found  the  following  written  on 
the  fly-leaf  of  my  grammar,  "  Parlez  vous  Francais, 
Mademoiselle  Miles,  si  vous  ne  puis  pas,  donner  a  moi 
votre  livre."  I  could  not  translate  it  without  refer 
ence  to  the  dictionary,  after  having  taken  five  lessons. 
Afraid  I  shall  never  be  very  apt  in  the  languages. 
Before  my  teacher  found  my  book  again,  I  had  writ 
ten,  with  the  help  of  the  dictionary,  "  Point  du 
tout,  Monsieur  Dorwin." 

September  18th. — Acted  as  bride's  maid  to  day  for 
Miss  T.,  who  has  just  joined  the  matrimonial  band 
with  the  unassuming,  quiet  Mr.  M.,  my  best  old 
school-teacher.  He  was  characteristically  dignified 
on  the  occasion.  On  their  wedding  tour  they 
visited  me  in  my  noisy  village  school. 

September  19th. — This  morning  attended  church 
and  heard  Rev.  Mr.  B.  preach,  if  such  nonsense 
deserves  the  name  of  preaching.  Spent  the  after 
noon  reading ;  almost  any  book  is  better  than  some 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  157 

preaching  ;  in  fact,  I  never  took  up  a  book  or  news 
paper,  without  finding  some  good  ideas,  however 
much  chaff  had  to  be  waded  through  to  get  at  them  ; 
and  never  heard  but  few  sermons  without  getting 
some  good.  After  tea,  walked  in  the  garden  ;  here, 
in  nature's  temple,  there  is  a  book  always  open, 
from  which  we  can  draw  instruction,  uncontaminated 
by  false  representations  of  erring  man,  and  which 
has  the  love  of  God  indelibly  stamped  upon  every 
page. 

October  6th. — Dismissed  school  this  forenoon  to 
attend  the  dedication  of  the  Presbyterian  church  ; 
interesting  and  solemn  service.  Read  the  remain 
der  of  the  day,  in  "  Guide  through  Mt.  Auburn." 
The  description  of  this  beautiful  cemetery,  makes 
one  almost  wish  to  be  buried  there.  Especially 
would  it  be  the  living  desire  of  those  whose  friends 
repose  in  the  quiet,  beautiful,  broad  grounds  of  this 
burial  place,  a  great  "  city  of  the  dead,"  which  hu 
man  ingenuity  has  embellished  with  shrubbery,  orna 
mental  trees,  walks,  and  flowers.  Here  roses  bloom 
from  early  May  to  lingering  autumn,  planted  by  the 
hand  of  undying  affection ;  and  ever-varying  flowers, 
of  an  endless  variety,  send  forth  their  fragrance  to 
make  cheerful  and  bright  the  pathway  to  the  silent 
grave.  It  is  a  comfort  to  reflect  that  when  the  hour  of 
separation  comes,  the  mortal  from  the  immortal,  that 

these  earthly  remains  will  still  retain  the  tender  regard 
14 


158  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

of  those  whom  we  leave  on  earth ;  that  the  spot  is 
made  sacred  in  their  affections,  where  the  broken  cas 
ket  lies,- which  once  contained  all  that  now  lives  and 
acts  in  a  glorious  future.  These  are  but  the  common 
feelings  and  associations  of  all  ages  and  generations 
of  men,  from  the  time  the  patriarch  Jacob  said, 
"  Bury  me  not,  I  pray  thee,  in  Egypt,  but  I  will  lie 
with  my  fathers  ;  there  they  buried  Abraham  and 
Sarah  his  wife  ;  there  they  buried  Isaac  and  Re 
becca  his  wife ;  and  there  I  buried  Leah."  Such 
now  are  the  natural  desires  that  often  fall  from  the 
lips  of  the  dying.  One  half  the  thoughts  which 
haunt  the  imagination,  and  chill  the  heart  with  the 
terror  of  death,  are  banished  in  contemplation  of 
these  bright  and  beautiful  gardens,  stored  with  love 
liest  images  of  reflection,  and  pictures  of  sweet 
sequestered  scenes,  more  worthy  of  Christianity  than 
the  usual  dreary,  desolate,  and  neglected  repositories 
of  the  dead.  Who  has  not  been  chilled  to  the  heart 
in  witnessing  the  pictures  of  old  burial  places,  where, 
in  the  foreground  and  most  prominent  of  all, 
"  death's  head  and  cross-bones,"  stare  you  in  the 
face,  symbolic  of  all  earthly  woe  in  the  past,  and 
prophetic  of  future  evil ;  a  reminder  of  traditionary 
legends,  when  "  ghosts  wandered  to  and  fro,"  a 
foreboding  shadow  of  affliction  to  the  terror-stricken 
passer  by,  and  awakening  in  the  stoutest  heart  a 
thrill  of  fear ! 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  159 

But,  rather  let  our  burying-places  be  like  those  of 
the  patriarchs,  described  by  the  poet  Montgomery  : 

"Where  no  dark  cypress  cast  a  doleful  gloom, 
No  blighting  yew  shed  poison  o'er  the  tomb, 
But  white  and  red,  with  intermingling  flowers, 
The  graves  looked  beautiful  in  sun  and  showers. 

Green  myrtles  fenced  them,  and  beyond  that  bound 
Ran  the  clear  rill,  with  ever  murmuring  sound, 
'T  was  not  a  scene  for  grief  to  nourish  care, — 
It  breathed  of  hope,  it  moved  the  heart  to  prayer." 

From  page  108  of  the  "  Guide,"  we  quote  : 
"  Resuming  now  our  walk  up  Central  Avenue,  and 
passing  a  monument  which  bears  the  name  of  "  Still- 
man  Lothrop,"  we  come  to  a  handsome  white  marble 
column  on  the  left,  inscribed  thus.  "  To  Hannah 
Adams,  Historian  of  the  Jews,  and  Reviewer  of  the 
Christian  sects,  this  is  erected  by  her  female  friends. 
First  tenant  of  Mount  Auburn  ;  she  died,  December 
loth,  1831,  aged  76." 

November  ~L2th. — This  evening,  seated  myself  by 
the  window,  to  view  the  clouds  in  the  west,  and  the 
setting  sun.  I  never  beheld  so  magnificent  and 
beautiful  a  scene.  Would  that  I  were  an  artist  skil 
ful  enough  to  sketch  those  splendid  clouds,  burnished 
with  golden  light  upon  canvas.  They  outvie  the 
brilliancy  of  the  rainbow,  in  every  shade  and  tint, 
from  silvery  white  to  berylline  blue  ;  and  from  them 
the  surrounding  hills  and  forests  have  borrowed  a 


160  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

mantle  of  tinselled  gauze,  interspersed  with  alternate 
hues  of  brightest  sunshine,  and  the  deepest  shadow 
thrown  upon  the  landscapes  varied  front.  With 
slow  and  measured  step,  twilight,  loveliest  hour  of 
the  day,  approaches,  and  in  her  "  sober  livery " 
w^raps  the  ideal  vision. 

"  Who  can  paint 

Like  nature  ?    Can  imagination  boast 
Amid  its  gay  creation  hues  like  hers, 
Or  can  it  mix  them  with  that  matchless  skill 
And  lose  them  in  each  other. ' ' 

Thursday,  Dec.  12th. — Thanksgiving  day.  At 
tended  church  in  the  morning,  heard  Mr.  B.  preach 
from  the  107th  Psalm,  43d  verse  ;  "  Whoso  is  wise 
and  will  observe  these  things,  even  they  shall  under 
stand  the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord."  Good  ser 
mon,  good  prayers,  and  singing.  One  half  of  the 
rich  folks  in  the  village  are  making  feasts  of  oysters, 
turkies,  brandies  and  wrines,  to  which  the  other  half 
are  invited  this  evening.  The  streets  are  full  of 
"  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  and  the  blind." 
These  are  not  invited  according  to  Christ's  directions, 
for  they  cannot  "  bid  them  again."  On  my  way 
home  from  church,  I  met  people  hurrying  from  their 
several  places  of  worship,  ladies  and  gentlemen 
attired  in  costly  furs  and  velvet ;  some  of  them  per 
haps,  thinking  of  the  practical  application  of  the 
old  Epicurian's  motto  :  '*  Let  us  eat  and  drink  ;  for 


AND   KECOLLECTIONS.  161 

to-morrow  we  die."  From  this  picture  of  wealth 
and  plenty  I  turn  my  eyes  down  a  "  back  street," 
leading  to  the  river's  bank,  and  there  are  some  dirty 
and  barefooted  children,  playing  on  the  pavement. 
No  smoking  viands  await  their  return  to  cheerless 
and  desolate  hearthstones.  Perhaps  their  parents, 
if  they  have  any,  have  brought  wretchedness  upon 
themselves  by  intemperance  and  crime  ;  yet  they  are 
to  be  pitied,  for,  "  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is 
hard."  Hope  Mrs.  Woodruff  will  make  me  the 
bearer  of  a  basket  full  of  fragments  to  them,  after 
supper.  I  want  to  see  their  faces  look  smiling  and 
happy. 

December  21st. — Spent  a  quiet  evening  in  my 
room,  sewing.  Was  awakened  in  the  night,  by  the 
cry  of  fire.  O,  horrid  !  to  be  aroused  from  mid 
night  slumbers,  to  witness  a  scene  so  clreadful !  The 
creaking  of  engines  and  shouts  of  the  energetic  fire 
men,  and  ringing  of  church-bells,  rend  the  air  with 
fearful  discordant  sounds.  Two  factories  consumed 
and  one  poor  operative  perished  in  the  flames. 

Sunday,  Feb.  28th. — No  meeting  at  our  church. 
In  the  morning  attended  the  Roman  Catholic,  and 
in  the  afternoon  the  Baptist  church.  Liked  the 
sermon  inthe  morning  the  best.  Good  singing,  and 
much  of  the  service  in  the  Latin  language,  recited 
by  those  who  knew  not  its  meaning.  A  part  of  the 
service  is  really  interesting,  especially  the  prayers. 
14* 


162  PEESONAL  SKETCHES 

Mass  was  celebrated,  and  while  the  kneeling  wor 
shippers  were  partaking  of  wafers  and  wine,  the 
priest  assured  them  they  were  die  real  body  and 
blood  of  Christ.  They  received  this  assertion  with 
a  blind,  implicit  faith,  and,  probably,  regarded  it  as 
one  of  the  mysteries  incomprehensible  to  human 
reason  ;  but  not  a  whit  more  absurd  than  many  of 
the  doctrines  of  Protestant  churches. 

April  7th. — To-day,  heard  of  the  death  of  Wil 
liam  Henry  Harrison,  President  of  the  United  States. 
John  Tyler  takes  his  place.  Democrats  call  it  a 
special  interposition  of  Providence.  Nonsense  ! 

April  \?>ih. — Took  tea  with  a  company  of  young 
ladies  in  Pamelia  village.  Returned  •  at  sunset,  and 
all  called  at  the  jail.  Saw  much  there  to  amuse  and 
interest  us.  Among  the  prisoners  was  a  Mr.  II.,  a 
practical  phrenologist,  who  had  canvassed  the  county, 
lecturing  and  giving  charts.  He  was  very  sociable 
through  the  "  seven  by  nine  "  aperture  in  his  iron 
door.  He  was  a  splendid  singer  ;  favored  us  with 
some  songs,  by  the  request  of  the  sheriff's  wife. 
Some  of  his  songs  were  applicable  to  his  sad  con 
dition  ;  and  the  walls  of  his  gloomy  apartment 
echoed  the  sound  of  his  heavy  voice,  with  a  melan 
choly  reverberation.  One  who  shared  his  pallet  of 
straw  at  night,  was  a  beautiful  Indian  lad,  sixteen 
years  of  age,  who  plead  innocence  of  the  crime  for 
which  lie  was  imprisoned  ;  it  was  burglary,  while  in 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  163 

a  state  of  intoxication.  It  would  move  the  heart  of 
a  stone  to  pity,  to  hear  his  pleadings  for  intercession 
in  his  behalf,  in  broken  English.  Rum  had  been  his 
foe,  and  of  the  "  pale  face  "  he  had  learned  to  drink 
it.  O  !  thou  curse  of  the  world  !  What  wretch 
edness  has  not  been  brought  upon  frail  huTnanity 
through  thy  instrumentality  ? 

Before  we  left,  some  one  asked  them  what  they 
wanted  more  than  anything  else  for  their  comfort. 
R.  wanted  books,  and  the  poor  Indian,  cigars.  The 
next  day,  Maria  W.  and  I  made  them  another  visit, 
and  I  carried  a  large  volume  of  the  Life  and  Poems 
of  Robert  Burns,  and  M.,  a  roll  of  the  best  Ha- 
vanas. 

These  dark  prison  walls  have  been  the  scene  of 
untold  anguish  and  remorse  ;  here  shut  out  from  the 
light  of  the  sun,  resolutions  of  amendment  have 
been  made,  many  of  them  to  be  broken  in  an  evil 
hour.  What  a  libel  on  the  book  of  Revelation  and 
human  nature  is  the  doctrine  that  "  there  is  pleasure 
in  sin  !  " 

May  3d. — Attended  a  temperance  meeting  this 
evening  in  my  school-house.  Lecture  by  John 
Haddock,  and  a  paper  read  by  Mr.  Pendegast, 
anecdotes  relative  to  the  subject,  and  all  went  off 
lively.  One  young  man,  a  stranger,  arose  and  told 
his  own  experience.  Much  of  it  was  pathetic,  and 
some  parts  quite  laughable.  On  one  occasion,  being 


164  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

a  little  tipsy,  he  met  a  young  lady  of  his  acquaint 
ance  in  the  street,  and  attempted  to  make  so  low  a 
bow,  that  he  could  not  recover  his  balance,  and  fell 
on  his  face  in  the  walk.  His  extreme  mortification 
prompted  the  resolution  never  to  drink  any  more, 
and  he  had  faithfully  kept  his  pledge.  Pity  a  like 
accident  could  not  happen  to  every  moderate  drinker 
in  this  village ;  yes,  and  every  drunkard,  too  ;  but 
not  all  at  once,  for  then  there  would  not  be  room  on 
the  walks  for  the  ladies  to  pass.  O.  S.  Fowler's 
motto  is  a  good  one  for  young  ladies  ;  "  Total  absti 
nence,  or  no  husbands." 

June  ~LQth. — A  crushing  sorrow  has  overtaken  me 
to  day  ;  one  of  my  scholars  has  been  drowned  in 
Black  River,  a  girl  twelve  years  of  age,  daughter  of 
a  widow,  and  her  mother  was  absent.  Mary  was 
gathering  wild-flowers  and  evergreens,  on  the  bank, 
for  a  bouquet,  and  ventured  too  near  a  frightful  ledge, 
and  fell  from  it  into  the  rapid  current  below.  A 
little  French  girl  ran  to  me  quick  as  thought,  and 
pale  with  terror,  brought,  in  broken  English,  the 
unwelcome  tidings.  The  news  reached  every  part 
of  the  village,  in  less  time  than  I  have  taken  to  re 
late  it,  and,  within  an  hour,  more  than  a  hundred 
people  had  assembled.  They  searched  the  river  for 
miles  below,  but  in  vain,  the  body  could  not  be 
found.  About  sunset  the  mother  returned ;  her 

frightful   moans    were    distracting  to  witness.     All 
r 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  165 

night  she  wept,  and  with  beseeching  looks  gazed 
heavenward,  and  prayed  to  the  Helper  above  for 
reconciliation.  The  dark  and  cruel  wave  had  closed 
over  her  darling  and  only  child. 

June,  2Qth. — Mary's  body  found  to  day  on  a  small 
island  near  Dexter,  seven  miles  below  here.  There 
it  was  buried  without  ceremony.  Several  other 
graves  on  the  same  island,  of  people  who  had  met  a 
similar  fate.  "  And  the  sea  shall  give  up  the  dead 
that  are  in  it." 

July  4ith. — The  booming  of  cannon,  this  morning, 
awoke  us  at  an  early  hour ;  a  "  grand  celebration  " 
goes  off  to-day ;  the  village  all  excitement,  and  a 
medley  of  preparation  is  being  made  for  the  event. 
Hark  !  the  music  of  the  band  announces  the  arrival 
of  Driesbach's  caravan.  Here  they  come,  led  by 
two  large  elephants.  If  there  is  anybody  to  be 
found  who  has  never  "  seen  the  elephant,"  now  is  an 
opportunity  ;  now  the  keepers  conduct  them  to  the 
river,  and  they  bathe  their  heated  sides  in  the 
"crystal  flood."  Half  the  crazy  boys  and  girls  in 
the  village  follow  them  over  the  covered  bridge,  to 
see  the  monsters  swim.  The  end  of  the  trunk,  only, 
is  above  the  water ;  now  they  reach  Cedar  island, 
and  scramble  for  a  taste  of  the  verdant  shrubbery. 
What  a  screaming  of  the  boys  on  shore. 

At  ten  o'clock  all  the  Sabbath  schools  in  the  vil 
lage  marched  to  the  first  Presbyterian  church.  Rev. 


166  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Mr.  Brayton,  the  pastor,  made  a  prayer,  and  John 
Clark,  Esq.,  delivered  an  oration  ;  then  assembled  in 
procession  again,  and  marched  to  Massey's  grove, 
where  long  tables  were  filled  with  a  variety  of  eat 
ables,  which  were  partaken  of  with  a  keen  relish, 
then  followed  speeches,  prayers,  and  addresses  to 
little  folks,  while  they  sat  uneasy  to  hear  the  last 
word,  that  they  might  have  a  run,  and  frolic,  and 
swing.  The  day  was  finished  with  grand  fire-works, 
and  the  uproar  lasted  till  midnight.  Twenty-four 
hours  at  a  time  without  sleep,  is  plenty  long  enough 
to  keep  one's  patriotism  in  activity.  Retired,  think 
ing  the  whole  world  nothing  but  a  bundle  of  "  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit." 

July  1.8th. — Heard  Dr.  Henderson,  of  the  United 
States  army,  lecture  on  Temperance  this  evening, 
two  and  a  half  hours  in  length.  One  of  his  appeals 
to  the  drunkard  was  in  the  following  language, 
"  You  who  despise  a  draft  of  cold  water  now,  may 
be  of  the  number  who  will  beg  and  plead  in  vain, 
through  countless  ages  of  eternity  for  a  single  drop 
to  cool  your  parched  tongues  with."  Quite  an 
outpouring  of  eloquence ! 

Finish  this  week  boarding  at  one  of  the  best 
places  in  the  world.  A  few  days  more  and  I  must 
leave  Esquire  S.'s,  and  go  to  a  new  place,  all 
strangers.  To-day  at  the  dinner-table  had  a  conver 
sation  with  Miss  Stella,  and  Mrs.  II.,  her  sister, 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  167 

• 

about  Southern  slavery ;  they  have  both  resided 
South  several  years,  though  they  are  northern 
people.  They  give  the  evils  of  the  "  peculiar  in 
stitution  "  a  very  different  coloring  from  the  aboli 
tionist  representation  of  it.  The  slaves,  they  say,  as 
a  general  thing,  are  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness 
and  consideration,  and  allowed  to  work  at  their  own 
leisure,  and  appear  to  enjoy  life  well.  In  many 
instances,  they  say,  the  masters  and  mistresses  are 
the  real  slaves ;  slaves  to  wealth,  to  fashion,  public 
opinion,  dress,  and  intemperate  habits,  and  a  thou 
sand  and  one  other  things  which  never  trouble  "  pus- 
sons  ob  color." 

This  passage  in  my  diary  of  years  ago,  dear  F., 
reminds  me  of  an  incident  related  of  Brainard,  the 
poet,  who  was  then  editor  of  a  weekly  paper  called 
"  The  Minor,"  by  Peter  Parley  in  his  autobiography. 
Saturday  was  the  day  of  publication  for  his  paper, 
and  Friday  night  had  arrived  without  his  having 
written  a  line.  "  Brainard,  as  was  his  wont,  especi 
ally  when  he  was  in  trouble,  falls  in  a  curious  train 
of  reflections,  half  comic  and  half  serious."  "  Would 
to  heaven,"  he  says,  "  I  were  a  slave  ;  I  think  a  slave 
with  a  good  master  has  a  good  time  of  it.  The  re 
sponsibility  of  taking  care  of  himself,  the  most  ter 
rible  burden  of  life,  is  put  on  his  master's  shoulders. 
Madame  Roland,  with  a  slight  alteration,  would 
have  uttered  a  profound  truth.  She  should  have 


168  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

said,  "  Oh,  .Liberty,  Liberty,  thou  art  a  humbug  !  " 
After  all,  liberty  is  the  greatest  possible  slavery,  for 
it  puts  upon  a  man  the  responsibility  of  taking  care 
of  himself ;  if  he  goes  wrong,  why,  he's  damned ! 
If  a  slave  sins,  he's  only  flogged,  and  gets  over  it, 
and  there's  an  end  of  it.  Now,  if  I  could  only  be 
flogged,  and  settle  the  matter  that  way,  I  should  be 
perfectly  happy ;  but  here  comes  my  tormenter." 
The  door  is  now  open,  and  a  boy  with  a  touseled 
head  and  inky  countenance,  enters,  saying  curtly, 
"  Copy,  Mr.  Brainard  !  "  "  Come,  in  fifteen  min 
utes  !  "  says  the  editor,  with  a  droll  mixture  of  fun 
and  despair.* 

August  13^A.  To-day  visited  my  sister's  school 
on  Point  Salubrious,  in  the  town  of  Lyme.  Here 
is  a  great  democratic  celebration  ;  one  of  their  flags 
bore  the  motto,  "  Lyme  never  turns  to  clay."  This 
point  of  land  jutting  out  into  Chaumont  Bay,  is  one 
of  the  most  lovely  spots  in  New  York.  A  Mr. 
White,  who  had  travelled  a  great  deal  for  pleasure, 
gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  he  had  not  found  a  place 
in  all  his  rambles  as  fascinating.  The  road  follow; 
the  shore  around,  and  the  water's  edge  is  fringed 
with  a  profusion  of  trees  and  vines.  After  school 
took  a  boat  ride  for  the  first  time  in  my  life.  Land 
ed  at  Cherry  Island,  a  farm  of  about  one  hundred 
acres,  with  one  family  only  upon  it.  I  thought  of 

*"Recollectionsof  a  Life-time,"  by  S.  G.  Goodrich,  p.  146,  2d  vol. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  169 

Juan  Fernandez  being  "  monarch  of  all  he  could 
survey."  This  lone  island  is  blessed  with  a  soil  of 
unsurpassed  fertility,  and  the  corn  and  wheat  fields 
are  heavy  with  their  burden  of  grain.  A  delightful 
breeze  wafts  us  back  to  the  shore  ;  feeling  much  re 
freshed. 

Sept.  12th.  School  is  over,  and  my  sister  and 
myself  both  go  home  to  our  father's,  to  spend  a  few 
weeks.  -Found  the  family  all  well  and  forming  a 
semi-circle  around  the  hearth-stone.  Ma  in  one 
corner,  in  the  "  old  arm-chair,"  which  is  the  most 
ancient  piece  of  furniture  the  house  affords,  and  its 
very  appearance  is  indicative  of  a  long  life  of  use 
fulness.  Pa  sits  by  the  stand,  reading  "  Paradise 
Lost,"  aloud.  Mr.  Pomeroy  is  with  us,  and  we  all 
have  a  discussion  about  the  phrase,  "  God  tempera 
the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb !  "  One  says  it  is  Scrip 
ture,  and  another,  Shakespeare.  Both  wrong ;  an 
other  poet  is  the  author  of  that. 

The  few  weeks  I  spent  at  home,  after  this  school, 
were  my  last,  as  a  home   under   the  paternal   roof. 
And  these  were  in  preparation  for  a  new  journey  in 
life  ;  I  knew  not  whither. 
15 


LETTER  XX. 

Marriage  —  Description  of    Dexter — School-teaching    again,  and 
boarders — Dexter  and  Sackett's  Harbor. 

MY  DEAR  F. : 

The  three  years  following  my  marriage,  which 
occurred  January  1st,  1843,  we  lived  in  Dexter, 
Jefferson  County,  N.  Y.  My  husband,  Rev.  G. 
S.  Abbott,  was  pastor  of  the  Universalist  church 
in  that  place.  Dexter  is  a  manufacturing  village 
at  the  mouth  of  Black  River,  in  the  town  of  Browns 
ville.  The  largest  woollen  factory  there  is  in 
the  State,  had  been  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
still  is,  in  successful  operation.  The  population  of 
this  village  is  about  five  hundred  ;  nearly  one  hun 
dred  of  them,  probably,  are  engaged  in  the  factory, 
either  as  operatives,  or  superintending  different 
departments ;  and  a  large  share  of  the  inhabitants 
in  the  village  are  depending,  either  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  on  this  manufacturing  establishment  for  a 
support.  The  three  churches  that  have  been  built 
there,  and  constantly  support  preaching,  has  been 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  171 

done  through  the  medium  of  this  limited  income, 
with  the  little  help  they  have  received  from  neigh 
boring  farmers.  Their  success  cannot  be  accounted 
for,  in  but  one  way ;  it  is  the  result  of  unparalleled 
energy  and  zeal.  They  are  not  a  "  dead  and  alive  " 
set  of  people,  who  sit  and  fold  their  arms,  waiting 
for  something  to  turn  up  before  they  can  act.  "  I 
can't,"  is  a  phrase  they  have  blotted  out  from  their 
vocabulary  ;  there  is  no  such  thing  with  them.  In 
every  reform  of  the  day,  they  have  acted  in  the 
right  direction,  and  that  with  a  hearty  good  will. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  you  will  readily  perceive 
that  minister's  salaries  in  a  small  place  like  this, 
cannot  be  very  large,  and  in  order  to  meet  current 
expenses,  the  most  rigid  economy  must  be  observed. 
Our  residence  was  in  the  extreme  upper  part  of  the 
village  ;  in  a  small  new  house,  with  but  two  rooms 
above  and  the  same  number  below.  There  is  no 
situation  in  life  so  humble,  but  one  can  draw  comfort 
from  the  reflection  that,  it  might  be  worse.  We 
had  been  boarding  with  a  lady  for  two  months,  pre 
vious  to  commencing  house-keeping  ;  therefore,  there 
was  a  consciousness  of  independence  in  our  home 
which  we  could  not  feel,  boarding.  But  our  expen 
ses  were  more,  in  the  outset,  than  our  small  means 
would  cover ;  so  that  a  way  must  be  opened  for  an 
increase  of  income,  or  a  contentment  with  less  want?. 
The  latter  was  a  lesson  always  hard  for  me  to  learn. 


172  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

I  am  aware  that  contentment  has  been  ranked  among 
the  prominent  virtues,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  there 
is  a  contentment  which  sets  so  easy  that,  with  some,  it 
degenerates  into  a  fault.  When  we  have  got  all  the 
comforts  of  life,  which  will  accrue  from  a  reasonable 
exertion,  we  ought  to  learn  to  "  therewith  be  con 
tent  ;  "  but  any  honorable  employment  that  a  person 
is  capable  of  engaging  in,  whether  man  or  woman,  is 
a  commendable  means  of  securing  such  an  end. 

The  young  man  who  owned  the  premises  on 
which  we  resided,  wished  to  get  a  boarding  place,  so 
we  took  him  into  our  family,  and  the  avails  of  his 
board  more  than  paid  the  rent.  Still  there  was 
time  to  do  something  more,  and  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  earning  a  little  by  taking  a  small  number  of 
boys  and  girls  to  teach,  who  lived  in  the  parish,  and 
one  of  our  chambers  was  an  admirable  school-room, 
and  with  a  little  fitting  up  was  ready  for  operation. 
Instead  of  the  few  who  were  to  come  in  from  the 
families  with  whom  I  had  conversed  on  the  subject, 
I  had  application  to  receive  pupils  from  various  other 
towns,  so  that  my  labor  was  more  than  I  wished  for. 
Three  young  ladies  from  different  towns  we  received 
as  boarders,  and  others  boarded  in  the  village,  and 
my  small  beginning  soon  arose  to  the  dignity  of  a 
young  ladies'  boarding  school.  This  I  continued 
three  terms,  in  addition  to  performing  the  duties  of 
the  household,  with  from  one  to  four  boarders.  The 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  173 

avails  of  these  three  terms  of  select  school,  amount 
ed  to  between  one  and  two  hundred  dollars,  besides 
what  we  received  for  boarders.  You  need  not  ask, 
dear  F.,  whether  this  labor  was  too  large  a  draft 
upon  my  strength,  for  anybody  at  your  age,  or  mine 
now,  would  know  better  than  to  think  so  much  labor 
could  be  performed  with  impunity.  It  takes  a  whole 
life-time  to  learn  "  how  to  live,"  and  then  we  die  but 
a  little  wiser  than  when  we  commenced  life. 

The  remaining  two  years  of  our  residence  here, 
were  spent  a  little  more  leisurely,  now  that  we  had 
got  a  start  in  house-keeping.  The  people  whom  we 
depended  on  for  a  support,  were  ready  always  to 
assist  us,  even  beyond  their  means,  and  I  look  back 
upon  those  days  with  gratitude  and  pleasure.  It 
would  be  a  happiness  to  me  to  know  that  such  a 
people  cherished  my  memory,  or,  rather,  that  I 
merited  their  grateful  remembrance,  as  they  have 
mine. 

Dexter  is  mostly  built  upon  the  rising  ground  on 
each  side  of  the  valley,  formed  by  the  river  and  bay  ; 
and  is  the  head  of  navigation.  Small  steamers  have 
touched  at  its  harbor,  though  the  lake  navigation, 
mostly  stops  at  Sacketts'  Harbor,  four  miles  below, 
on  the  bay,  just  where  it  widens  into  Lake  Ontario. 
This  is  a  village  of  some  importance  of  a  little  over 
a  thousand  inhabitants,  and  somewhat  noted  as  being 
the  principal  military  and  naval  station  on  the  north- 
15* 


174  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

ern  frontier  during  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Immense  sums  of  money  have  been  expended  here 
in  building  war  vessels  and  barracks.  One  duel  was 
fought  here  in  1818,  and  twelve  military  executions 
took  place  during  the  war  ;  and,  in  the  time  of  Col . 
Brady's  command,  the  remains  of  twelve  officers 
were  collected  and  buried  in  one  grave,  and  a  painted 
board  monument  was  erected  to  their  memory, 
which  has  long  since  rotted  down.  The  battle 
ground  is  a  beautiful  plat  of  green  on  a  commanding 
rise,  which  overlooks  the  lake.  No  traces  remain  of 
the  bloody  enactments  of  1812,  but  the  unfinished 
frigate  New  Orleans,  sheltered  with  a  house  built 
over  it,  and  Madison  Barracks,  from  which  the  sta 
tioned  troops  have  been  withdrawn  for  service  in  the 
Indian  wars  of  the  northwest  and  Florida.  When 
nations  can  settle  their  difficulties  by  arbitration, 
they  ought  to  be  considered  civilized,  and  not  before. 


LETTER  XXI. 

Western  New  York— Wyoming  County— Portageville  Falls— Buffalo 
— Tonewanda  and  Cayuga  Creeks— Fruit  and  Grazing—  Cowles- 
ville— Rev.  J.  S.  Flagler— Dr.  Stoddard— Rev.  N.  Stacy— Rev.  C. 
G.  Persons— Correspondence. 

MY  DEAR  F. : 

The  three  years  following  our  residence  in 
Dexter,  we  resided  in  Western  New  York,  in  Erie, 
Genessee,  and  Wyoming  Counties.  Here,  every 
thing  wore  quite  a  different  aspect,  except  the  kind 
ness  of  the  inhabitants,  and  they  were  as  consider 
ate  of  our  wants  as  people  well  can  be  of  their 
pastor. 

The  first  place  of  our  residence  was  Cowlesville, 
in  the  town  of  Bennington,  Wyoming  County,  about 
twenty  miles  southeast  of  Buffalo,  and  but  two  from 
the  line  of  Erie  County,  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  Genesee  County,  on  the  north ;  so  in  an  hour's 
ride  we  could  visit  two  different  counties  besides  the 
one  of  our  residence.  The  surface  of  this  county 
is  more  hilly  and  uneven  than  any  of  the  western 
counties,  except  the  very  southern  portions  of  the 


176  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

three  counties,  Cattaraugus,  Chatauque,  and  Alle- 
ghany ;  these  portions  are  a  continuation  of  the 
mountainous  regions  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  ridges  and  ravines,  of  which  the  entire  county 
is  formed,  present  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller,  scenes 
of  the  wildest  beauty  and  loveliness.  This  county 
is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Genesee  river, 
which  falls  in  the  distance  of  a  little  over  two  miles, 
over  three  hundred  feet  in  the  vicinity  of  Portage- 
ville.  At  the  foot  of  the  lower  fall,  the  perpendicu 
lar  banks  of  solid  rock  are  fpur  hundred  feet  high. 
It  seems  as  if  nature  here,  had  got  in  one  of  her 
wildest  pranks,  and  left  her  work  unfinished ;  per 
haps,  took  a  fright  on  viewing  the  workmanship  of 
her  own  hands  for,  under  the  west  bank  of  the  river, 
near  the  foot  of  the  Middle  falls,  is  a  tremendous 
cave,  called  the  "  Devil's  Oven."  "  For  about  two 
miles  below  the  Middle  Falls,  the  river  pursues  a 
winding  and  rapid  course  between  high  perpendicu 
lar  walls  ;  then  descends  in  a  succession  of  steps 
almost  as  regular  as  a  staircase,  dives  under  a  shelv 
ing  rock,  shoots  out  in  a  narrow  pass,  not  more  than 
fifteen  feet  wide,  rushes  down  a  nearly  perpendicu 
lar  descent  of  twenty  feet,  strikes  against  the  base  of 
high  rocks  standing  almost  directly  in  its  course, 
whirls  back,  and  turning  at  nearly  right-angles,  falls 
into  a  deep  pool  overhung  with  shelving  rocks.  An 
isolated  mass  of  rocks,  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  177 

one  hundred  feet  high,  known  as  '  Sugar  Loaf,' 
rises  from  the  river  bed  at  the  bend  of  the  stream, 
and  receives  nearly  the  whole  force  of  the  rushing 
water.  It  is  bordered  on  one  side  by  the  present 
bed  of  the  stream,  and  on  the  other  by  a  deep  chasm, 
which  separates  it  from  the  east  bank  of  the  river. 
Within  the  memory  of  people  now  living,  the  river 
flowed  over  the  precipice  on  the  level  of  the  rock 
which  now  forms  its  west  bank,  and  Sugar  Loaf  was 
an  island.  These  falls  are  accessible  only  from  the 
west."* 

There  are  numerous  smaller  streams  flowing 
through  this  county,  among  them  are  Buffalo,  Cayu- 
ga,  and  Tonewanda  Creeks.  The  valleys  through 
which  these  creeks  flow  are  unsurpassed  in  the  fer 
tility  of  soil,  and  fruits  and  grains  are  the  natural 
products.  I  should  like  to  have  the  children  of  St. 
Lawrence  County  see  one  peach  tree,  such  as  I  have 
seen  in  those  beautiful  valleys,  bending  beneath  their 
rich  burdens.  In  the  whole  catalogue  of  fruits 
there  is  not  one  so  delicious. 

Even  these  wild  hills  yield  rich  income  to  the  far 
mer,  in  the  flocks  and  herds  that  graze  along  their 
summits,  and  some  of  them  are  a  thousand  feet 
above  the  bottom  lands,  in  the  ravines.  The  high 
state  of  cultivation,  here,  only  shows  us  how  the 

*  New  York  State  Gazeteer. 


178  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

roughest  materials  of  nature  can  be  polished  by  the 
hands  of  human  industry. 

Cowlesville  is  snuggled  in  among  hills  so  close, 
that  not  a  house  can  be  seen  until  right  among  them, 
not  even  the  spires  of  the  churches.  Here,  and  in 
Genesee  County,  we  lived  a  little  over  two  years, 
attending  the  same  churches  in  both  places.  In 
Darien  we  boarded  in  the  family  of  Rev.  J.  S.  Flag- 
ler,  and  in  Pembroke,  with  Dr.  Stoddard's  family. 
In  both  these  families  I  received  a  great  deal  of 
instruction  on  various  subjects,  from  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  communicative  intelligence  existing  with 
them,  which  a  person  associating  with  them,  must 
be  beyond  measure  stupid  not  to  appreciate  and  turn 
to  profitable  account.  I  will  here  introduce  an 
extract  from  a  letter  written  by  me  to  Rev.  N.  Stacy, 
after  a  very  satisfactory  perusal  of  his  autobiography, 
in  which  he  speaks  of  Rev.  Mr.  Flagler,  in  a  light 
to  show  that  his  disposition  was  somewhat  unyield 
ing  : 

Hopkinton,  March  11,  1852. 

DEAR   BR.  STACY, — I  have  just   arisen  from  a 
perusal    of    your    very   interesting    memoirs,    and, 
though  a  stranger  to  you,  I  have  an  irresistable  de 
sire  to  express   my  gratitude  to  you  that  the  wor 
has  been  published,  and  for  the  pleasure  it  has  give 
me  to  peruse  it.     Biography  is  my  favorite  reading, 
consequently  I  have  read  many  ;  but  I  can  truly  say 
that,  1  never  was  more  interested  in  any  than  your 
own.     Many  of  the  scenes  you  have  described,  were 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  179 

enacted  In  places  perfectly  familiar  with  myself,  and 
with  persons  with  whom  I  have  enjoyed  a  familiar 
acquaintance.  I  was  born  in  Watertown,  and  have 
been  many  times  with  my  parents  to  hear  Mr.  Morse 
preach,  and  have,  also,  become  acquainted,  with  him 
since  he  left  Watertown.  We  have  been  living  for 
a  year  past  on  Pillar  Point,  just  across  the  Bay  from 
Sackett's  Harbor ;  it  is  now  a  neat  and  pretty  vil 
lage,  though  I  can  easily  believe  all  you  have  said 
of  it,  for  I  have  often  heard  my  father  speak  of  the 
filthiness  of  the  place  in  time  of  the  war  ;  he  was 
captain  of  a  regiment,  there,  and  was  present  during 
an  engagement.  My  mother  was  at  home,  and 
though  distant  ten  miles,  could  distinctly  hear  the 
"  clash  of  resounding  arms."  History  speaks  of 
the  revolution,  as  "  times  that  tried  men's  souls," 
but  I  think  that  women  must  have  borne  a  good 
share  of  the  burden  of  anxiety  and  fear,  as  well  as 
a  participation  in  their  labors. 

You  speak  of  Bro.  C.  G.  Persons  ;  I  have  several 
times  visited  at  his  house,  in  Ellisburgh,  and  had 
become  much  attached  to  him  and  his  aged  compan 
ion.  In  fact,  I  always  had  a  great  reverence  for  old 
age,  and  I  remember  many  times,  in  my  youthful 
days,  leaving  the  society  of  my  companions  to  spend 
awhile  conversing  with  the  aged.  We  once  board 
ed  in  Bro.  J.  S.  Flagler's  family,  and  to  them  we 
also  became  warmly  attached ;  I  have  not  a  doubt, 
however,  of  the  truth  of  what  you  say  of  him,  for  I 
am  well  acquainted  with  his  firmness,  and  am  aware 
that  it  often  amounts  to  stubbornness,  for  I  have 
heard  him  express  an  opinion  on  the  subject  which 
you  treat  of  in  connection  with  him.  And,  yet,  he 
has  as  generous  and  noble  a  heart  as  ever  beat  in 
'anybody's  bosom.  His  mind  is  in  the  constant 
exercise  of  gratitude  to  God  for  his  daily  blessings, 


180  PERSONAL  SKET'CHES. 

though  he  is  very  much  opposed  to  ceremonies  as 
such,  or  any  innovation  upon  the  old  way  in  which 
he  was  educated.  I  have  often  seen  him  set  back 
from  the  table,  after  eating,  and  say ;  "  Well,  we 
have  had-  another  good  meal  of  victuals  ;  let  us  be 
thankful."  This  grateful  feeling  for  all  his  blessings, 
was  a  prominent  trait,  though  he  did  not  see  the  ne 
cessity  of  making  any  lengthy  ceremonies  at  table,  or 
any  other  time.  Soon  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  and 
the  birth  of  our  first  child,  he  wrote  to  us  ;  from  which 
allow  me  to  give  you  a  brief  extract :  "  O  !  dear 
brother  and  sister,  my  feelings  will  not  allow  my  pen 
to  describe  them,  nor  your  want  of  experience  to  even 
anticipate  them  ;  we  know  nothing  about  them,  until 
we  are  called  in  Providence  to  endure  the  trial.  I 
am  almost  broken  down  with  trouble  by  this  affliction ; 
and  am,  also,  broken  up  by  other  difficulties,  which  I 
will  explain  to  you  if  ever  I  shall  be  favored  with 
an  opportunity.  *  *  *  *  I  most  heartily  con 
gratulate  you  on  the  addition  to  your  family,  and 
should  be  extremely  happy  to  visit  you,  and  see 
with  my  eyes,  and  feel  with  my  hands,  what,  of  all 
things  I  love  the  most,  young  children."  I  know 
not  why  I  have  given  you  this  extract  for,  I  pre 
sume  you  are  not  blind  to  Bro.  F.'s  good  qualities. 


LETTER  XXII. 

History  of  a  Family — Modern  Spiritualism — Correspondence — Gen 
eral  Reflections  on  Spiritualism— Extract  from  Edmund  H.  Sears' 
"  Foregleams  of  Immortality. " 

MY  DEAR  F: 

In  my  last  letter,  I  spoke  of  Dr.  Stoddard's  family, 
in  connection  with  our  residence  in  Genesee  County, 
and  I  want  to  relate  to  you  some  particulars,  with 
regard  to  their  history,  which  are  somewhat  remark 
able  and  yet  so  melancholy,  that  it  gives  me  pain  to 
recur  to  them.  Mrs.  S.  was  a  person  of  the  most 
brilliant  accomplishments  and  intellect,  and  one 
whose  delicacy  of  physical  organism,  prevented  her 
engaging  in  the  active  duties  of  life,  though  her 
labor  was  constant  and  more  exhausting  than  though 
a  portion  of  it  had  been  performed  with  her  hands. 
Her  brain  was  her  active  agent,  and  with  it  she 
solved  some  very  curious  problems.  She  had  one 
place  always  for  her  mental  reveries,  an  arm-chair, 
cushioned  all  over,, drawn  up  to  one  corner  of  the 
fire-place,  in  their  large  and  well-furnished  family- 
16 


182  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

sitting-room  ;  her  feet  resting  upon  a  brass  semi 
circle,  one  of  the  fixtures  of  the  fireplace  to  keep 
the  shovel  and  tongs  stationary.  The  melancholy 
result  of  her  studying  was  not  the  singular  feature 
in  her  case,  for  that  is  an  oft  repeated  tale  in  the  his 
tory  of  Modern  'Spiritualism,  but  it  was  her  seeming 
gift  of  prophesy.  The  period  of  our  residence  at 
the  doctor's  was  three  months,  from  the  middle  of 
August  to  the  middle  of  November,  1847.  Now, 
you  will  remember,  that  the  disturbance  called  the 
"  Rochester  knockings,"  originated  in  a  little  hamlet 
in  Wayne  County,  town  of  Arcadia,  called  Hydes- 
ville,  in  the  Fox  family,  in  January,  1848.  They 
afterwards  removed  to  Rochester,  where  was  the 
scene  of  all  their  future  wonderful  experience.  A 
detailed  and  minute  account  of  the  whole  you  will 
find  by  a  reference  to  Robert  Dale  Owen's  "  Foot 
falls  on  the  boundary  of  another  world,"  from  page 
284  to  289  inclusive. 

I  have  conversed  with  Mrs.  S.  by  the  hour,  on 
her  favorite  themes,  and  she  would  make  one  state 
ment  at  almost  every  sitting  like  this,  I  have  heard 
her  say  it  scores  of  times  :  "  There  is  about  to  be  a 
revolution  of  sentiment  in  the  whole  religious  world, 
and  something  wonderful  will  transpire  near  here, 
and  that  within  a  very  few  months.  It  will  be  th 
wonder  of  wonders,  e  very  bodyt  will  talk  about  it, 
and  almost  everybody  will  oppose  it  at  first ;  it  is 


AXD  RECOLLECTIONS.  183 

something  that  I  cannot  call  by  any  name  yet,  but 
in  it  there  will  be  unmistakable  evidence  of  super 
natural  origin,  and  it  will  undermine  the  very  foun 
dations  of  church  creeds  ;  Martin  Luther's  Reforma 
tion  was  a  baby  by  the  side  of  it.  My  life  will  not 
be  spared  but  a  few  more  years,  though  I  shall  live 
to  witness  that." 

To  show  you,  dear  F.,  the  workings  of  this  lady's 
mind.  I  will  give  you  a  copy,  entire,  of  a  letter  I 
received  from  her,  dated  July,  1849.  It  was  in 
reply  to  one  I  had  addressed  to  her,  enquiring  her 
opinion  of  the  "  rappings  "  at  Rochester.  In  this 
you  will  see  how  impossible  it  was  for  her  to  think 
of  anything  else,  but  the  one  all-absorbing  topic : 

Pembroke,  July,  1849. 

DEAR  LADY  : — The  reason  I  have  delayed  writ 
ing  to  you  is,  that  I  have  been  a  journey  to  Canada, 
and  returned  sick,  as  usual ;  hardly  able  to  hold  my 
pen  ;  but  you  know  I  cannot  write  or  spell,  nor  do 
anything  but  think,  and  thought  too  wild  and  wan 
dering.  Our  family  are  all  feeble  this  summer. 
Mary  Jane's  health  is  very  poor ;  she  had  an  attack 
of  bleeding  at  the  lungs  this  spring,  and  the  doctor 
is  as  usual.  You  wished  me  to  give  you  my  mind 
on  the  Rochester  sounds.  If  I  had  strength  to  write 
or  compose,  it  would  be  highly  gratifying  to  me  to 
give  you  a  protracted  history  of  events  since  I  last 
saw  you,  but  as  it  is  I  must  be  brief  and  say,  I 
believe  it  is  spiritual ;  last  May  the  sounds  were 
heard  in  my  house  nine  times ;  in  June  I  went  to 
Rochester  and  asked  the  invisible  agents  if  the 


184  PERSONAL   SKETCHES 

sounds  were  ever  made  in  my  house,  and  if  so,  how 
many  times,  and  they  answered  correctly ;  but  I 
spent  but  very  few  moments  at  Rochester  ;  I  was 
in  brother  Hammond's  house ;  I  have  had  some 
demonstrations,  of  which  I  cannot  here  speak  this 
time  ;  I  am  living  to  see  some  of  my  prophecies 
fulfilled.  I  have  lived  to  say  that  I  know  my  depart 
ed  friends  exist  in  the  spirit  world.  I  have  found 
nothing  contradictory  to  my  views  for  the  last  six 
years. 

You  asked  of  brother  Flagler's  family  ;  the  old 
gentleman  was  at  our  house  this  summer  ;  he  laughs 
loud  at  the  idea  of  our  holding  converse  with  spirits  ; 
well,  laugh  on  ;  when  this  proves  to  be  a  humbug,  a 
delusion,  farewell  Bible,  farewell  everything  that  has 
any  connection  with  it ;  so  say  I,  but  at  present  I 
firmly  believe  in  both.  I  think  of  nothing  that 
would  be  particularly  interesting  to  you  among  your 
old  acquaintances.  Jane  D.  seems  very  happy  with 
her  husband,  Eev.  Mr.  W. ;  they  are  yet  at  her 
father's  ;  he  often  visits  me  to  talk  about  the  sounds  ; 
he  writes  much  against  it,  which,  perhaps,  you  see  ; 
still,  he  says  he  knows  those  who  hear  the  sounds 
have  no  agency  whatever  in  getting  them  up.  The 
most  of  the  people  in  this  vicinity  say  it  is  witch 
craft,  and  rest  satisfied ;  that  would  never  do  for  me, 
first  principles  are  my  study  ;  I  can  much  better 
comprehend  spirit  than  witchcraft.  But  stop,  I  can 
not  write,  I  am  so  sick.  I  would  be  very  glad  to 
converse  with  you  and  Mr.  A.  on  this  subject.  I  do 
not  expect  either  of  you  believe  it ;  not  a  word  of 
it,  says  A  ;  never  mind,  I  think  all  will  have  suffi 
cient  evidence  some  day,  either  moral,  physical,  or 
logical ;  then  AVC  must  believe.  The  reasoner  cannot 
believe  without  evidence,  on  a  subject  like  this,  and 
that,  too,  of  the  most  positive  kind.  I  was  sorry 


AXD  RECOLLECTIONS.  185 

you  did  not  give  me  your  opinion  as  well  as  ask 
mine  ;  perhaps,  if  you  had  a  little  idea  it  was  spirits, 
pride  would  prompt  you  to  be  silent ;  I  find  that  the 
case  with  some  in  this  place. 

I  have  two  or  three  times  made  an  attempt  to  tell 
you  of  old  friends,  but  I  run  dn  to  the  subject  of 
the  sounds,  and  stop,  and  as  I  do  not  think  of  any 
thing  interesting,  I  will  not  again  make  the  attempt. 
Esquire  C.  and  wife  visited  here  a  short  time  since  ; 
they  said  Mrs.  L.  was  "hard  on  the  bit,"  on  this 
subject. 

You  say  when  you  read  this,  "  I  declare,  I  did 
think  that  Mrs.  Stoddard  could  write  a  better  letter 
than  this  ;  "  so  I  could  once. 

Brother  D.  lives  on  our  farm,  yet ;  they  have  a 
little  curly-headed  girl,  smart  as  steel ;  O  !  I  cannot 
murder  this  paper  any  more. 

Write  and  give  me  your  mind  if  you  please  on 
the  sounds.  FIDELIA  STODDARD. 

As  I  had  a  number  of  other  correspondents,  with 
but  a  little  time  to  write,  and  not  seeing  any  neces 
sity  for  an  immediate  reply,  for  I  had  no  settled 
opinion  on  this  strange  and  incomprehensible  subject. 
Time  passed  away,  and  first  I  knew,  three  years 
had  elapsed  since  the  reception  of  this  letter,  and  I 
had  not  replied  to  it.  After  so  long  delay  I  feared 
that  a  reply  would  be  hardly  acceptable,  but 
thought  I  would  write,  and  did,  from  which  I  make 
an  extract : 

"  The  subject  in  question  has  agitated  the  minds 
of  all  classes,  and  attained  a  world-wide  notoriety, 

16* 


186  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

and,  is  one,  I  acknowledge,  of  serious  importance, 
and  that  should  interest  us  with  the  subject  it  in 
volves,  more  than  any  other,  after  a  reasonable 
amount  of  time  and  energy  have  been  exhausted  in 
earthly  improvement  and  happiness.  "  Progress  " 
is  the  watch-word  of  the  age,  and  as  that  is  a  dis 
tinctive  doctrine  of  spiritualism,  we  cannot,  in  truth, 
condemn  it  "  in  toto,"  nor  would  it  be  inconsistent 
to  cry  "  humbug,"  without  first  knowing  what  are 
the  aims  of  this  large,  and  not  the  least  respectable 
class  of  community.  Psychology,  Pneumatology, 
Mesmerism,  and  Sonambulism,  have  all  been  brought 
in  requisition  to  throw  some  light  on  these  researches, 
and  yet  we  shall  have  to  die  in  ignorance  of  the 
main-springs  of  action  in  this  wonderful  class  of 
phenomena. 

The  mere  doctrine  of  departed  spirits  coming  back 
to  earth  to  watch  over  us  for  good,  is  at  once  pleas 
ing,  and  not  wholly  at  variance  with  reason  and 
scripture.  If  it  could  be  a  universally  received  doc 
trine,  there  is  no  doubt  but  the  world  would  be 
benefitted  ;  their  faith  in  the  future,  strengthened  ; 
and  motives  increased  to  well-ordered  lives.  Then 
why  should  we  put  forth  our  efforts  to  deprive  a  liv 
ing  soul  of  its  enjoyment  ?  I  have  been  acquainted, 
more  or  less,  with  people  of  that  faith  from  the  com 
mencement  of  its  career  to  the  present,  and  they 
are  as  intelligent,  as  good,  and  honest,  as  those  of 
other  professions.  And  yet,  I  confess  my  disgust  of 
this  senseless  twaddle  that  goes  the  rounds  of  the 
Spiritualist  papers,  under  a  pretence  of  being  com 
munications  from  this,  that,  and  the  other,  great 
genius  who  has  lived  upon  the  earth.  It  seems  to 
me  to  be  right  in  the  face  and  eyes  of  the  ennobling 
doctrine  of  future  progress  which  the  advocates  of 
this  theory  profess  to  believe  ;  for  a  large  share  of  it 


I 


AND  RECOLLECTJONS.  187 

is  utterly  beneath  their  capacity,  while  in  the  flesh. 
There  may  be  a  way  with  them,  to  solve  these  diffi 
culties,  but,  I  have  yet  to  learn  how  it  can  be  done, 
before  my  mind  can  receive  any  benefit  from  reading 
their  literature ;  and  some  of  their  writing  is  so 
much  above  the  earth  that  a  person  must  be  versed 
in  more  languages  than  the  English,  to  get  their 
ideas.  Some  of  their  writers  seem  to  have  a  vocabu 
lary  of  their  own,  and  pile  words  enough,  coined 
from  a  wholly  original  mint  into  one  sentence,  to 
turn  the  brain  of  a  philoshpher  or  a  Philadelphia 
lawyer,  to  try  to  decipher  them.  Of  this  class  is 
Andrew  Jackson  Davis.  So  you  discover  that  I  am 
wholly  in  the  fog  about  this  matter,  but  I  mean  to 
read  more,  and  meantime  try  to  be  guided  by  an 
unprejudiced  investigation.  When  I  get  any  new 
ideas  I  will  try  to  be  more  prompt  in  reporting  pro 
gress." 

Judge  of  my  feelings,  dear  F.,  when  I  received 
the  following,  which  was  in  a  few  days,  after  writing 
the  above. 

Pembroke,  Sept.  21st,  1852. 

MY  DEAR  FRIENDS  : — I  received  this  day  a  let 
ter  from  sister  Abbott  to  my  poor  wife,  which  showed 
me  that  you  were  ignorant  of  the  overwhelming 
sorrows  that  have  come  upon  our  family  since  Mrs. 
Stoddard  wrote  you.  One  year  ago,  last  March, 
Stoddard  and  Freeman,  of  Rochester,  failed  for  a 
large  amount,  bringing  utter  ruin  upon  me,  as  I  had 
endorsed  for  them  more  than  I  am  worth.  I  think 
their  failure  and  circumstances  connected  therewith, 
(which  I  will  not  now  mention)  seriously  affected 
the  mind  of  my  wife,  and  from  that  time  she  ap- 


188  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

plied  her  mind  assiduously  to  the  subject  of  "  spir 
itual  philosophy,"  BO  called,  and  in  October,  last, 
became  a  monomaniac  on  that  subject,  and  continued 
so  for  three  weeks,  when  she  became  a  raving 
maniac,  requiring  two  men  to  take  care  of  her. 
The  first  of  January,  last,  I  took  her  to  the  Asylum 
at  Utica,  where  she  is  now.  She  has  become  more 
quiet,  but  the  superintendent  gives  me  no  encourage 
ment  of  her  recovery.  Jane  was  married  in  May, 
1851,  to  James  Bouo-hton,  who  was  in  the  mercantile 

i  • 

business  at  the  corners  ;  her  husband  died  in  Decem 
ber  last,  at  his  father's,  Col.  Boughton's.  Jane 
came  home  to  live  with  me  after  Mrs.  Stoddard 
went  to  Utica,  and  died  on  the  27th  of  May,  about 
one  year  after  her  marriage.  She  and  her  husband 
both  died  of  consumption.  Jane's  death  left  me 
entirely  alone  ;  my  health  was  poor,  and  I  felt  that 
I  could  not  live  here,  where  there  were  so  many 
dreadful  associations  ;  I,  therefore,  closed  my  house, 
and  started  for  Vermont ;  from  thence  I  went  to 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  .many  other  places; 
was  gone  two  months,  calling  at  Utica  on  my  way 
down  and  back ;  did  not  see  my  wife  for  fear  it 
would  make  her  worse.  Since  my  return  from  the 
east,  I  have  been  to  Canada.  I  have  now  a  Mr. 
Stevens  and  his  wife  in  my  house,  with  whom  I 
board  ;  I  shall  have  to  leave  my  farm  in  the  Spring  ; 
where  I  shall  go,  if  I  live,  I  know  not ;  I  think  I 
shall  hire  my  board  in  this  neighborhood,  and  try  to 
support  myself  by  my  profession.  *  I  feel 

that  this  letter  will  be  read  by  you  with  absorbing 
interest,  and  great  astonishment,  and,  that. the  first 
question  in  your  minds  will  be,  "  How  does  the  doc 
tor  bear  it  ?  "  My  only  consolation  is,  in  the  belief 
of  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  Universalism,  that  all 
the  afflictions  of  this  life  shall  work  for  good  to 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  189 

those  that  are  afflicted,  and,  that  the  final  result  of 
the  government  of  God  will  be  glorious,  and  termi 
nate  in  the  purity,  holiness,  and  happiness  of  every 
individual  of  the  human  race  ;  believing  this,  I  think 
I  can  say  from  my  heart,  "  Not  my  will,  but  thine, 
O  God,  be  done." 

It  would   be   very  gratifying   to  me  to  receive  a 
letter  from  both  or  either  of  you  ;  do  write    soon, 
and  any  inquiries  you  may  make  I  will  answer,  if  I 
can.     With  sentiments  of  love,  I  am, 
Respectfully  yours, 

A.  W.  STODDARD. 

After  reading  this,  Dear  F.,  I  think  you  will 
agree  with  me  that,  this  family  has  passed  through  a 
furnace  of  affliction.  How  little  we  know  of  the 
future  !  Jane,  whose  death  he  speaks  of,  was  a 
niece  of  Mrs.  S.'s,  a  most  brilliant  young  lady,  one 
whom  they  had  brought  up  from  infancy,  and  doted 
on  with  the  tender  care  of  parents.  Since  this  letter 
we  have  received  no  tidings ;  probably  death  has 
closed  the  scene,  for  both.  The  doctor  was  an  old 
man  in  184T.  The  farm  that  was  taken  from  them 
by  the  creditors  of  the  doctor's  son,  was  a  perfect 
garden ;  a  beautiful  residence,  literally  embowered 
with  trees  and  vines.  A  trumpet  honeysuckle, 
more  luxuriant  in  growth  than  any  I  have  ever  seen 
east  of  there,  had  climbed  to  the  roof,  and  was  * 
one  mass  of  scarlet  blossoms  from  July  till  the  late 
frosts  of  Autumn.  A  lovelier  home  was  not  to  be 
found  in  all  Western  New  York.  I  have  introduced 


190  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

this  correspondence  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the 
effects  of  any  excitement  like  that  occasioning  the 
ruin  of  this  family  upon  a  weak  and  nervous  system  ; 
hoping  it  will  be  a  warning  to  those  in  a  like  state  of 
health  ;  and  prevent  them  from  allowing  any  one 
subject  to  get  the  mastery  of  their  minds.  I  do  not 
say  that  Spiritualism  is  the  only  agency  which 
could  effect  the  same  result,  for  I  do  not  think  so. 
Now,  after  a  lapse  of  eight  more  years,  'as  much 
of  absurdity  and  nonsense  as  has  been  published  to 
the  world  under  its  name,  no  person  of  common 
observation  can  fail  of  discovering  that  some  good 
has  been  accomplished  through  its  agency.  The 
general  tendency  of  the  age  had  been  to  infidelity  ; 
and  the  world  was  filled  with  mourners,  who  had  no 
hope  of  a  future  reunion  with  the  loved  and  lost  of 
earth  ;  no  voice  could  speak  to  them  of  hope  and 
comfort  from  beyond  the  door  of  the  sepulchre ;  no 
angel,  with  noiseless  tread,  could  "  roll  the  rock 
away."  The  veil  of  unbelief  between  them  and  the 
immortal  world,  had  been  woven  with  so  firm  a  tex 
ture,  that  the  dim  eye  of  faith  could  not  penetrate  it. 
Suppose  it  is  no  benefit  to  some  who  have  already  a 
faith  in  the  Gospel  promise  ?  How  uncharitable  the 
interrogatory  we  daily  hear  !  "  Where's  the  good  ?  " 
A  Id  to  this,  the  fact  that,  with  all  its  error,  there  is 
truth  and  beauty  in  the  system,  which  is  interwoven 
with  our  former  faith  and  trust,  and  is  identical 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  191 

with  our  highest  and  best  conceptions  of  God  and 
heaven.  Then  I  answer,  the  good  in  it,  is  inasmuch 
as  the  difference  between  a  cold,  unfeeling  dread  of 
annihilation,  heart-yearnings  unsatisfied  for  a  con 
tinuation  of  existence  beyond  this  transitory  state  of 
trial  and  affliction,  a  mourning  without  hope  for  the 
loss  of  friends,  an  unhappy  solicitude  and  regret  for 
a  misspent  life,  with  no  hope  of  a  boundless  field  for 
future  amendment,  no  inventive  for  aspirations  of  a 
higher  life,  a  despair  which  prompts  the  dismal 
words  of  the  poet, 

"  Like  bubbles,  on  a  sea  of  matter  borne, 
We  rise  and  break,  and  to  that  sea  return.' ' 

And  a  cheering,  glorious  anticipation,  which  finds 
vent  in  these  hopeful  and  blessed  sentiments  : 

"  We  start  in  life  an  unbroken  company ;  brothers 
and  sisters,  friends  and  lovers,  neighbors  and  com 
rades,  are  with  us  ;  there  is  circle  within  circle,  and 
each  one  of  us  is  at  the  charmed  centre,  where  the 
heart's  affections  are  aglow,  and  whence  they  radiate 
on  society.  Youth  is  exuberant  with  joy  and  hope  ; 
the  earth  looks  fair,  for  it  sparkles  with  May-dewS 
wet,  and  no  shadows  hath  fallen  upon  it.  We  are 
all  here,  and  we  could  live  here  forever.  The  home- 
centre  is  on  the  hither  side  of  the  river ;  and  why 
should  we  strain  our  eyes  to  look  beyond  ?  But  this 
state  of  things  does  not  continue  long.  Our  circle 


192 


PERSONAL     SKETCHES. 


grows  less  and  less.  It  is  broken  and  broken,  and 
then  closed  up  again ;  but  every  break  and  close 
makes  it  narrower  and  smaller.  Perhaps  before  the 
sun  is  at  its  meridian,  the  majority  are  on  the  other 
side  ;  the  circle  there  is  as  large  as  the  one  here ; 
and  we  are  are  drawn  contrawise  and  vibrate  between 
the  two.  A  little  longer,  and  almost  all  have  crossed 
over ;  the  balance  settles  down  on  the  spiritual  side, 
and  the  home-centre  is  removed  to  the  upper  sphere. 
At  length  you  see  nothing  but  an  aged  pilgrim, 
standing  alone  on  the  river's  bank,  and  looking  earn 
estly  towards  the  country  on  the  other  side."* 

*  "Fore-gleams  of  Immortality,"  by  Edmund  H.  Sears,  page  136, 


LETTER  XXIH. 

Genesee  County — Its  fruit — Orange  County  Butter — General  appear 
ance  of  this  State  from  Rouse's  Point  to  Dunkirk — Every-body's 
own  Country  the  Best — Skaneateles — Cooperstown — Rochester — 
Mount  Hope  Cemetery — Mount  Hope  Nursery. 

MY  DEAE  F.: — 

In  my  last  letter  I  intended  to  tell  you  something 
about  the  scenery  and  natural  advantages  of  Gene- 
see  County,  but  the  large  space  occupied  with  per 
sonal  sketches  and  recollections,  and  my  say  about 
Modern  Spiritualism,  crowded  out  other  things 
which  would,  perhaps,  have  been  more  interesting. 
The  particular  production  of  fruit  has  made  this 
county  too  well  noted  in  any  part  of  this  State,  or 
New  England,  to  need  any  reference  to  it  here,  and 
there  is  as  much  "  Genesee  fruit "  sold  in  the  eastern 
market,  as  there  is  "  Orange  County  Butter,"  and 
there  is  more  of  both  sold  in  a  single  year,  bearing 
these  names,  than  either  county  ever  produced  of 
these  farm  articles.  There's  everything  in  a  name. 
Ever  so  stale  an  article  of  butter  that  has  the  phrase 
17 


194  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

"  Orange  County  "  breathed  over  it,  has  a  charm  in 
it  to  raise  its  value,  and  warrants  a  quick  sale.  It  is 
just  so  with  "  Genesee  fruit."  I  have  sometimes 
thought  that  a  bag  of  Crab-apples  might  be  made 
so  rich  as  to  "  melt  in  your  mouth,"  if  these  magic 
words  could  be  whispered  in  it.  What  was  called 
the  "  Genesee  country,"  once  embraced  the  whole 
of  Western  New  York  ;  perhaps  that  accounts  for 
so  much  "  Genesee  fruit."  All  that  portion  of  the 
State,  except  the  mountainous  districts  in  the  ex 
treme  south,  presents  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller 
one  complete  series  of  gardens  and  orchards,  spotted 
with  lakes  and  rivers.  I  have  travelled  in  every 
northern,  central  and  western  county  of  this  State, 
from  Rouse's  Point  to  Dunkirk.  Clinton  is  the 
north-east  corner  county,  and  Chautauque  the  south 
western  line.  It  seems  impossible  that  such  con 
trasts  could  exist  as  there  is  in  the  general  appear 
ance  of  these  two  counties,  in  one  State,  though  it  is 
as  large  as  the  Island  of  New  Holland.  I  have 
been  over  this  route  by  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and 
the  Lakes,  by  railroad,  and  by  private  conveyance, 
and  traversed  different  sections  of  nearly  every 
county,  and  resided  in  five  of  them,  and  become 
familiarly  acquainted  with  the  inhabitants  of  these 
various  sections,  and,  what  is  to  me  a  little  singular, 
by  far  the  largest  majority  of  those  I  have  heard 
express  an  opinion  of  the  merits  of  their  locality,  in 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  195 

comparison  with  others,  think  they  have  got — if  not 
the  very  identical  garden  of  Eden  from  which  Adam 
and  Eve  were  driven — the  counterpart  of  it.  One 
town  in  Erie  County  is  named  "  Eden  ;"  for  conveni 
ence,  all  the  rest  had  to  be  named  something  else  ; 
but  that  would  have  been  the  most  appropriate 
appellation,  according  to  the  estimates  of  the  resi 
dents.  This  satisfied  spirit,  with  the  places  in  which 
our  lot  has  been  cast,  is  certainly  a  great  blessing, 
for  which  we  ought  to  be  thankful ;  for,  we,  who 
live  in  these  hyperborean  regions,  cannot  all  find 
places  in  the  orange-groves  of  the  torrid  zone,  and  I 
doubt  whether  our  happiness  would  be  enhanced  by 
the  change.  In  all  this  region  of  country  I  have 
spoken  of,  to  me,  the  paradise  of  all,  for  country 
places,  and  those  are  the  most  pleasant  of  any,  is 
in  Skaneateles,  Onondaga  County.  Including  the 
little  villages  and  hamlets  in  this  town,  the  lake  by 
the  same  name,  and  the  gently  rolling  slopes  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  main  river,  Skaneateles  outlet,  I 
never  saw  so  much  perfect  beauty  in  one  town.  It 
seems  that  the  inhabitants  must  be  immeasurably 
happy  there.  One  reason  for  the  beautiful  appear 
ance  of  the  country  here,  is  the  fact  of  the  high 
lands  overlooking  such  an  extent  of  territory,  in 
cluding  so  large  a  variety  of  scenery.  Fairies  must 
have  had  a  hand  in  forming  and  polishing  these 
beautifully  rounded  hills,  and  human  industry  has 


196  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

completed  a  picture  of  unsurpassed  loveliness,  a  land 
scape  of  continuous  and  highly  cultivated  farms. 

The  village  that  struck  us  as  the  prettiest  in  this 
garden  of  New  York,  is  Cooperstown,  in  the  town 
of  Otsego,  Otsego  County,  at  the  foot  of  Otsego 
Lake.  The  main  street  in  the  village  rises,  gently, 
from  the  lake  back  to  its  termination,  and  has  some 
elegant  residences ;  among  them  is  one,  honored  by 
being  that  of  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  novelist ; 
a  beautiful  mansion  with  ornamental  grounds,  near 
the  centre  of  the  village.  The  Cooperstown  Semi 
nary  and  Female  Collegiate  Institute  has  extensive 
and  beautiful  buildings,  which,  with  the  adjacent 
grounds,  is  an  ornament  to  the  place.  From  almost 
any  part  of  the  village,  the  lake  is  the  most  promi 
nent,  natural  feature.  Its  surface  is  a  clear,  smooth 
sheet,  spread  out  like  a  mirror,  fit  home  for  the 
fabled  nymph.  The  town  of  Otsego  is  a  high  ridge 
of  land, -lying  between  the  two  lakes,  Otsego  and 
Schuyler,  with  the  advantages  of  a  rich  soil,  and 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

The  city  of  Eochester  has  the  most  attractions  of 
any  of  the  western  and  central  cities  of  the  State 
and  they  are  too  numerous  to  mention.  Among  the 
most  prominent,  is  Mount  Hope  Cemetery.  It  is  on 
the  highest  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  em 
bracing  a  territory  of  seventy  acres,  and  from  it  is 
a  magnificent  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  197 

Genesee  Falls  is  one  of  the  prominent  natural  attrac 
tions,  besides  being  the  scene  of  "  Sam  Patch's  " 
fatal  leap.  Men  like  him  and  M.  Blondin,  who  can 
find  no  better  employment  than  calling  thousands 
together  to  be  wrought  to  the  highest  pitch  of  ex 
citement,  just  for  the  sport  of  witnessing  their  dar 
ing  feats,  are  a  small  loss  to  the  world. 

Time  and  space  would  fail  in  the  attempt  to  merely 
mention  the  objects  of  deep   interest  in  this  lovely 
city,  and  I  will  only  cite  you  to  one  in  addition  to 
those  already  referred  to  ;  but  the  descriptions  have 
been  often  given  by  abler  pens  than  mine.     Ellwan- 
ger  and  Barry's  Mount  Hope  Nursery.     Here  are 
five   hundred   acres,  in   which  the    skill,  taste,  and 
labor  of  the  experience    of  years  are  combined,  to 
propagate  and  cultivate  fruit  and  ornamental  trees, 
shrubs  and  flowers,  on  the  most  extensive  scale  of 
any  in  the  United  States,  if  not  in  the  world.    What 
more  delightful,  profitable,  and  elevating   employ 
ment,  than  the  cultivation  and  care  of  fruits  and 
tender  plants !     Here,  just  outside  the  great  "  wick 
ed  city,"  where   are   disgusting  scenes  of  drunken 
ness  and  human  degradation  at  its  lowest  point,  is  a 
temple  of  nature,  filled  with  beauty,  and  the  balmy 
air  is  freighted  with  a  thousand  odors,  a  realization 
of  the  most  romantic  dreams. 
17* 


LETTEE  XXIV. 

Boston,  Erie  County— Our  Children — A  Land  "  Flowing  with  Milk 
and  Honey  " — Yankee  Anecdote  of  Dairying— Western  New  York 
as  it  is — As  it  was,  in  an  extract  from  Turner's  Pioneer  History — 
The  Inhabitants  of  1860  contrasted  with  those  of  1800— Ignor 
ance  of  the  Poorer  Class  in  the  Cities  with  regard  to  the  Superior 
Advantages  of  the  Country — Extracts  from  Miss  Sedgwick's  Let 
ters. 

MY  DEAR  F.:— 

From  the  Summer  of  1848  to  the  Spring  of  1849, 
our  residence  was  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Eighteen 
Mile  Creek,  in  the  town  of  Boston,  Erie  County. 
This  is  the  birth-place  of  our  daughter.  Her 
brother  was  born  in  Watertown,  in  1850  ;  these  are 
our  only  children.  The  town  of  Boston  is  wholly 
made  up  of  two  hills  passing  through  the  town  from 
northeast  to  southwest,  and  the  valley  spoken  of, 
which  is  nearly  or  quite  one  mile  wide.  There  are 
three  little  villages  on  this  creek,  from  two  to  three 
miles  apart,  containing  seven  or  eight  churches,  all 
pleasantly  located ;  the  inhabitants  are  an  enter 
prising  and  industrious  people,  as  well  as  in  the  farm 
ing  districts  on  the  hills.  The  road  from  the  top  of 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  199 

either  hill  to  the  valley  belew,  is  full  a  mile  long, 
and  the  descent,  the  most  of  the  way,  is  frightfully 
rapid  for  timid  pedestrians.  In  one  short  year,  I 
could  not  get  accustomed  to  such  a  getting  up  and 
down  of  steep  declivities,  and  always  rode  with  fear, 
over  them.  Almost  every  farmer  here  keeps  a  dairy, 
and  is  a  cheese-maker,  and  the  dairies  are  the  largest 
of  any  I  have  ever  seen  in  other  places ;  sometimes 
numbering  a  hundred  cows,  or  over.*  One  other 
feature  of  their  domestic  economy,  struck  me  as 
somewhat  remarkable  ;  that  is,  nearly  every  man 
that  had  a  house,  whether  a  farmer  or  mechanic, 
kept  bees  ;  this  makes  it  similar  to  the  promised  land 
of  old,  literally  "  flowing  with  milk  and  honey." 
We  never  lived  in  a  place  I  regretted  leaving  any 
more  tlian  this  one.  The  inhabitants  were  kind  and 
generous,  and  they  still  occupy  a  prominent  place  in 
my  most  grateful  remembrances.  Sweet  dreams 
still  come  to  me  of  that  happy  valley,  and  of  the 
little  cherub  whom  I  first  folded  in  my  arms,  there. 
Heaven  be  blessed  for  the  awakening  of  these  tender 
ties,  and  the  influence  of  the  little  gentle  spirits  on 
the  heart- of  a  mother! 

*  Speaking  of  the  large  dairies  of  the  Bostonians,  reminds  me  of 
an  anecdote  I  once  heard  of  a  couple  of  Yankees,  travelling  south. 
While  in  the  cars,  one  of  them  told  the  astonished  Southerners  how 
many  hundred  cows  his  neighbor  kept.  Seeing  the  crowd  rather 
incredulous,  as  proof  of  his  assertion,  he  referred  to  his  travelling 
companion,  who  said,  *'  about  the  number  he  did  not  precisely  know, 
but  one  thing  he  did  know,  he  kept  twelve  saw-mills  all  going  with 
buttermilk. 


200  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

What  has  been  written,  dear  F.,  will  give  you  but 
a  little  idea  of  the  natural  and  cultivated  advantages 
of  what  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  favored  portion 
of  these  northern  States,  Western  New  York. 
What  little  idea  you  have  been  able  to  get  from  ray 
disconnected  descriptions,  is  with  regard  to  this 
beautiful  country  as  it  is  now  ;  and  that  you  may 
better  imagine  how  large  a  share  of  it  has  been 
accomplished  with  labor,  patience,  and  ingenuity, 
I  will  try  to  give  you  some  idea  of  what  the  country 
was  near  the  commencement  of  the  present  century, 
by  a  short  extract  from  Turner's  Pioneer  History, 
from  the  pen  of  the  widow  of  John  Young,  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  the  town  of  Elba,  Genesee 
County  : 

"  My  husband  having  the  year  before,  been  out 
and  purchased  his  land  upon  the  Holland  Purchase, 
in  the  fall  of  1804,  we  started  from  our  home  in 
Virginia,  on  horse-back,  for  our  new  location.  We 
came  through  Maryland,  crossing  the  Susquehannah 
at  Milton,  thence  via  Tioga  Point  and  the  then  usual 
route.  In  crossing  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  night 
came  upon  us :  the  horses  became  frightened  by 
wild  beasts  and  refused  to  proceed.  We  wrapped 
ourselves  in  our  cloaks  and  horse-blankets,  and 
attempted  to  get  some  rest,  but  had  a  disturbed 
night  of  it. ,  Panthers  came  near  us,  often  giving 
terrific  screams.  The  frightened  horses  snorted  and 
stamped  upon  the  rocks.  Taking  an  early  start  in 
the  morning,  we  soon  came  to  a  settler's  house,  and 
were  informed  that  we  had  stopped  in  a  common 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  201 

resort  of  the  panther.  My  husband  built  a  shanty, 
which  was  about  ten  feet  square,  flat-roofed,  covered 
with  split  ash  shingles ;  the  floor  was  made  of  the 
halves  of  split  basswood  ;  no  chimney.  A  blanket  an 
swered  the  purpose  of  a  door  for  a  while,  until  my 
husband  got  time  to  make  a  door  of  split  plank.  We 
needed  no  window  ;  the  light  came  in  where  the 
smoke  went  out.  For  chairs  we  had  benches,  made 
by  splitting  logs,  and  setting  the  sections  upon  legs. 
A  bedstead  was  made  by  boring  holes  in  the  side  of 
the  shanty,  inserting  pieces  of  timber  which  rested 
upon  two  upright  posts  in  front,  a  side  piece  complet 
ing  the  structure,  peeled  basswood  bark  answering 
the  place  of  a  cord.  We,  of  course,  had  brought 
no  bed  with  us  on  horse-back,  so  one  had  to  be  pro 
cured.  We  bought  a  cotton  bag  of  Mr.  Brisbane, 
and,  stuffing  it  with  cat-tail,  it  was  far  better  than 
no  bed.  The  second  year  we  were  in,  I  had  an 
attack  of  the  fever  and  ague,  which  confined  me  for 
nearly  a  year.  That  year  my  husband  cleared  four 
acres,  besides  taking  care  of  me  and  doing  the 
cooking.  Mr.  Young  died  in  1836. 

Since  reading  the  above,  I  have  thought  much 
about  the  present  condition  of  the  inhabitants  in 
that  very  locality ;  and  in  connection  with  it,  the 
ignorance  of  the  young  ladies  of  all  this  favored 
land,  of  the  perils  and  toils  of  their  fore-mothers. 
Reared  in  the  lap  of  luxury  and  abundance,  reposing, 
many  of  them,  after  an  idle  and  listless  day,  upon 
beds  of  down,  from  which  they  are  called  by  servants 
in  the  late  morning,  to  their  cups  of  coffee  and  toast, 
then  pass  a  long  day  to  them,  making  calls  or  read- 


202  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

ing  "  The  Ledger  ;  "  mayhap  their  white  taper  fin 
gers  have  labored  months  on  the  embroidery  of 
one  pocket-handkerchief.  What  kind  of  wives 
would  they  make  for  the  pioneers  of  your  own 
State,  for  instance  ?  Have  you  any  such  in  Milwau- 
kie  ?  How  would  they  like  a  horse-back  ride  over 
the  AUeghany  Mountains,  and  then  spend  a  night 
with  the  panthers,  on  the  rocks  ?  My  opinion  that 
the  bears  and  wolves  would  hold  peaceable  posses 
sion  some  time  in  the  future,  in  the  primitive  forests, 
if  they  did  not  "  clear  the  track,"  before  some  of 
our  ladies  of  1860,  shared  the  toils  of  the  brave 
pioneer. 

There  are  yet  millions  of  acres  belonging  to  this 
Republic,  untrodden  by  the  foot  of  the  white  man, 
and  a  "  host  that  no  man  can  number,"  both  men 
and  women  scattered  all  over  the  world,  dragging 
out  a  miserable  existence,  for  want  of  employment, 
ignorant  of  the  existence  of  any  country  outside  of 
the  dirty  city  where  they  were  born.  Think  of  the 
needle-women  in  London,  thirty-thousand  of  them 
in  that  one  city,  working  for  a  few  pence  a  day,  and 
what  is  still  worse,  other  thousands,  dragging  out  a 
miserable  life  in  the  coal  mines.  Compared  with 
their  lot,  the  rudest  hut  in  our  back  settlements  is  a 
palace.  Why  don't  some  benevolent  or  missionary 
society,  contrive  to  open  a  way  to  our  immense  tracts 
of  uncultivated  lands  for  these  armies  of  wretched 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  2Q3 

beings,  many  of  them  in  our  own  cities,  who  would 
at  once  be  made  happy  by  it,  and  the  places  they 
leave,  as  well  as  those  to  which  they  would  remove, 
be  the  gainers  ?  Such  a  society,  would,  if  they  ac 
complished  such  a  glorious  object,  become  the  bene 
factors  of  their  race,  and  the  world  would  owe  them 
an  everlasting  debt  of  gratitude.  The  change  to 
the  poor  victims  who  have  the  iron  heel  of  oppres 
sion  upon  their  necks,  from  the  dirty  lanes  of  the 
crowded  city,  to  the  open  air  of  heaven  as  God 
made  it,  would  play  upon  their  worn  spirits,  as  the 
gentle  breeze  upon  the  -ZEolian  harp. 

Miss  Sedgwick,  in  her  letters  from  Europe,  speaks 
of  people  who  never  heard  of  America !  "  K., 
asked  a  boy  in  Italy,  twelve  years  old,  who  wore  a 
cotton  jacket  and  trousers,  (December  9th,  two 
thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet  above  the 
Mediterranean),  and  manifestly  no  under  clothes, 
if  he  knew  where  America  was  ?  '  No,  nor  Eng 
land,  nor  Rome,  nor  Florence  !  '  Another,  still 
older,  had  heard  of  Rome,  but  he  had  been  four 
years  to  school !  '  His  mother  was  dead  and  there 
was  no  one  to  pay  for  him,  and  give  him  bread  any 
longer  ; '  and,  he  concluded,  '  there  is  no  work.' 
1  Ah,  signorina,  molto  miserable  !  ' 

In  Switzerland  she  fell  into  conversation  with  a 
peasant :  "In  the  course  of  which,  he  found  out  that 
I  came  from  New  York,  at  which  he  made  a  vehem- 


204  PERSONAL   SKETCHES 

ent  exclamation,  and  added  that  he  had  a  brother  in 
my  country.  '  In  what  part  of  it  ?  '  I  asked,  '  for  it 
is  somewhat  bigger  than  Switzerland.  '  'In  Buenos 
Ayres  !  and  if  madam  would  have  the  goodness  to 
take  a  letter  to  him  !  '  ?  With  all  my  heart,'  I  said, 
*  but  that  New  York  was  much  farther  from  Buenos 
Ayres,  than  St.  Martin's  from  Paris.'  '  Ah!  but  it 
is  on  the  same  side  of  the  great  sea ! ' : 

Nor  are  the  boys  and  peasants  all,  who  are  igno 
rant  of  the  condition  of  the  American  people.  If 
they  have  heard  of  America,  that  is  about  all,  with 
some  in  higher  walks  of  life.  In  Germany,  the  seat 
of  literature  in  Europe,  as  much  ignorance  was  be 
trayed  with  regard  to  America  and  her  people,  as  in 
Italy  and  Switzerland.  On  page  170,  volume  2,  of 
her  letters,  she  says  :  "  We  are  sometimes  amused 
at  the  questions  that  are  asked  us,  such  as, 
4  Whether  English  is  spoken  in  America  ?  ' ;  A 
gentleman  asked  me,  "  Whether  we  came  from 
New  Orleans  or  New  York  ?  "  as  if  they  were  our 
only  cities ;  and  another  said,  in  good  faith,  '  Of 
course  there  is  no  society  except  in  New  York ! ' 
Oh,  genii  locorum  of  our  little  inland  villages, 
forgive  them ! " 

"  We  are,  too,  often  reminded  how  far  our  country 
is  from  this.  Yesterday,  a  Russian  gentleman  said 
to  K.,  '  Who  is  the  sovereign  of  your  country, 
miss  ?'  *  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  the  President  of  the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS. 


205 


United  States.'  '  Ah,  yes,  but  I  have  heard  the 
name  of  Jackson.  He  sprang  from  the  lower  class, 
did  he  not  ?  '  '  Pray  what  is  the  title  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  lesser  departments  ?  ' : 

Such  ignorance,  Dear  F.,  would  be  unpardonable 
in  a  school-boy  ten  years  of  age,  in  the  United 
States. 

18 


LETTER  XXV. 

Parting  with  Friends — Farm  Life  in  Watertown— Good  Farming- 
Castles  in  the  Air— Bookselling— Parents  Obligation  to  Children. 

MY  DEAR  F. : 

Associations  ever  so  pleasantly  formed,  have  to  be 
broken  up  sooner  or  later,  by  separation.  It  was 
with  a  pang  of  regret  that  I  took  the  parting  hand 
of  loved  friends  in  Boston,  and  it  would  have  been 
hard  to  be  reconciled  to  this  removal,  had  it  not 
been  to  my  own  native  place,  and  to  the  very  home  of 
my  childhood.  The  death  of  my  mother  had  left  a 
vacancy  in  the  old  home,  which  nothing  earthly 
could  fill,  and  my  father  had  no  heart  to  engage  in 
his  farming  business  alone,  nor  was  there  any  neces 
sity  for  it,  at  his  time  of  life.  By  his  solicitation, 
we  removed  there  in  March  1859,  and  commenced  a 
farmer  life  ;  had  our  object  been  to  lesson  labor,  we 
should  have  failed  accomplishing  it,  for  with  an  in 
crease  of  business  came  an  increase  of  labor  and 
care.  Farming  is  the  most  healthful  and  indepen 
dent  way  of  living,  in  the  world,  and  then  the  bread 
and  butter  of  one's  own  raising,  tastes  sweeter  than 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  207 

any  other ;  besides,  good  farming  is  profitable  and 
sure  business.  Horace  Greeley,  in  one  of  his  agri 
cultural  addresses,  said  he  never  heard  a  man  com 
plain  of  farming  being  poor  business,  but  that  was 
a  poor  farmer.  This  is,  perhaps,  true  of  every 
other  business.  The  light  of  science  has  given  a 
new  impetus  to  agriculture,  and  made  it  a  more 
attractive  calling  for  young  men  who  have,  hitherto, 
sought  their  fortunes  in  the  unhealthy  atmosphere  of 
the  city,  contaminating  to  both  mental  and  physical 
health.  If  parents  wish  to  kill  their  sons  outright, 
as  sure  a  way  as  it  can  be  accomplished  is,  to  shut 
them  up  in  a  shop  or  counting-room  of  the  city, 
away  from  the  invigorating  air  of  the  country. 

Of  the  three  years  farmer  life  we  spent  in  Jeffer 
son  County,  you  have  some  account  in  another  cor 
respondence,  and  of  my  reluctance  to  leave  old, 
familiar  associations,  and  come  among  a  strange 
people.  This  was  done,  as  you  have  seen  by  a  peru 
sal  of  that  correspondence,  with  a  view  of  bettering 
our  circumstances  in  a  possession  of  a  home  of  our 
own.  When  age  begins  to  creep  upon  us,  the  re 
flection  is  not  as  pleasant  as  it  might  be,  that  we 
have  no  shelter  for  our  heads  when  night  approaches. 
It  is  an  easy  matter  to  sit  and  devise  plans  for  the 
future,  and  listen  to  suggestions  upon  which  to  build 
castles  in  the  air.  All  of  this  is  accomplished  often 
in  less  time  than  I  have  taken  to  write  it.  But  there 


208  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

is  a  little  more  stern  reality  in  the  fact  of  laboring 
early  and  late,  out  of  doors  and  in,  for  a  succession 
of  years  to  accomplish  this  object  with  a  hope  of  the 
realization  of  your  day-dreams,  and  a  deprivation  of 
everything  but  the  bare  necessities  of  life,  and  at  a 
point  when  you  expected  to  rest  under  a  vine  of 
your  own  planting,  to  have  the  whole  dashed  from 
you  with  a  few  pen-strokes,  and  transferred  to  the 
hands  of  another,  by  one  who  laid  the  foundation 
for  this  air-castle.  That  these  trials  in  life,  all  have 
their  uses  in  the  allotments  of  Providence,  there  is 
no  doubt,  though  we  fail  of  discovering  them  at  the 
time,  and  their  crushing  weight  sometimes  drives 
hope  from  us,  and  we  know  not  which  way  to  turn ; 
either  way  we  see  nought  but  darkness. 

I  have  been  drawing  no  fancy  sketch,  dear  F., 
but  one  in  which  all  the  characters  are  real. 

Being  well  aware  that  the  ordinary  wages  that 
women  can  command,  in  these  times,  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  accumulate  a  sum  in  ten  years,  that 
would  build  a  shelter  for  our  heads,  to  say  nothing 
about  expenses  of  food  and  clothing.  The  winter  pre 
vious  to  this  I  had  taught  a  district  school,  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  our  residence,  and  drove  a  horse  there 
and  back,  every  day ;  not  staying  from  home  a 
single  night  in  the  time.  More  snow  fell  during  that 
winter  than  any  previous  one  since  our  residence 
here,  and  more  than  any  one  since  that  time  ;  more 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  209 

than  half  the  distance  to  the  school-house,  was  a 
north  and  south  road,  and  piled  full  up  to  the  tops 
of  the  fences  a  part  of  the  way.  Sometimes  the 
horse  would  be  nearly  buried  in  the  drifts.  At  this 
juncture  of  affairs,  my  husband's  health  was  very 
poor  as  it  had  been  for  years,  and  our  two  children, 
but  six  and  seven  years  of  age.  I  tried  to  think  of 
all  the  employments  women  ever  engaged  in,  and 

none  seemed  so  feasible  as  selling:  books.     This  was 

• 

entirely  new  and  strange  business,  but  I'  resolved  to 
try  it,  knowing  full  well  that,  I  never  should  succeed 
in  anything,  without  trying  first.  Leaving  my  chil 
dren  in  somebody's  else  care,  was  the  most  objection 
able  part  of  my  plan,  and,  as  some  of  my  friends 
have  expressed  a  wonder  that  I  could  do  it,  I  will 
here  say  that,  I  never  should  have  undertaken  the 
task  of  travelling  and  selling  books,  had  I  not  others 
depending  in  a  measure  on  my  exertions  for  a  sup 
port.  I  could  have  got  along,  myself,  some  way, 
without  that  extra  exertion,  but  the  idea  of  children 
at  that  tender  age,  being  without  a  home,  nerved 
me  up  to  efforts  which  no  other  earthly  inducement 
could  have  prompted.  I  look  upon  it  as  one  of  the 
greatest  evils  of  society,  and  one  involving  more 
crime  than  any  in  the  long  catalogue  of  evils,  for 
parents  to  be  the  means  of  bringing  children  into 
existence  whom  they  are  unable  to  provide  for,  in  a 

comfortable  manner,  until  they  have  the  capacity  to 

18* 


210  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

provide  for  themselves,  and  next  to  it  is,  the  foolish 
indulgence  of  some  parents  in  the  other  direction, 
that  is,  not  impressing  upon  childrens'  minds  the 
necessity  of  industrious  habits,  and  thus  acqiiiring, 
gradually,  a  knowledge  of  the  means  of  helping 
themselves  to  an  honorable  living,  either  by  their 
education  or  the  labor  of  their  hands.  It  is  a  fine 
thing  in  these  days  of  fickle  fortunes,  to  have  an 
education,  and  know  how  to  labor  in  addition  to  it. , 
There  is  but  little  danger  of  children,  or  anybody 
else  having  too  much  practical  knowledge,  neither 
boys  nor  girls. 


LETTEK  XXVI. 

Commenced  Travelling  and  Selling  Books — First  Field  in  Parishville 
—Incidents  in  the  Trade  —  Jefferson  County  —  Parishville  and 
Watertown— Printing  Offices  turned  into  Cigar  Factories. 

MY  DEAK  F. : — 

Having  once  made  a  resolve  to  become  a  travelling 
bookseller,  I  commenced  at  first  on  a  very  small 
scale  by  way  of  experiment.  I  started  with  a  horse 
and  carriage  about  the  20th  of  August,  1856.  I 
had  never,  then,  nor  have  I,  yet,  heard  of  but  one 
female  book-pedlar  in  Northern  New  York,  besides 
myself;  that  was  Miss  Mendell,  of  Ellisburgh,  who 
is  now  dead  ;  she  died  in  Philadelphia  before  I  com 
menced  the  trade.  We  had  always  kept  our  de 
nominational  books,  and  a  few  others,  for  the  accom 
modation  of  such  as  we  happened  to  meet  at  home 
and  away,  so  my  first  stock  was  already  on  hand. 
Parishville  was  the  first  place  that  I  ventured  to  go, 
and  this  was  but  six  miles  from  our  residence.  On 
the  way  I  called  at  some  houses  where  I  was  well 
acquainted,  with  a  beating  heart,  but  with  better 
success  than  I  had  anticipated.  I  took  another 


212  PEKSQNAL  SKETCHES 

route  home  through  the  corner  of  Stockholm,  and 
when  the  night  had  come  I  was  again  at  home,  hav 
ing  travelled  twelve  <  miles,  and  sold  five  dollars 
worth  of  books.  The  next  day  I  took  a  larger 
variety  with  me,  and  sold  ten  dollar's  worth ;  at  this 
rate  my  little  stock  was  soon  going  to  be  exhausted, 
so  I  wrote  to  Boston  and  ordered  another  large  lot, 
among  them  a  variety  of  children's  books,  all  Colored 
and  full  of  plates.  For  the  benefit  of  beginners  in  the 
business,  I  will  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  juvenile 
books  of  the  right  stamp,  ought  to  be  a  large  share  of 
the  outfit  of  those  who  engage  in  the  business,  for  two 
reasons  ;  they  are  the  more  profitable,  and  they  do 
so  much  good  to  those  families  who  never  go  to  a 
book  store,  and,  consequently,  were  it  not  that  ped 
lars  carry  them  to  the  door,  they  would  never  get 
them.  It  has  been  a  great  satisfaction  to  me,  in  my 
peregrinations  in  out-of-the-way  places,  to  see  little 
bright  eyes  glisten  when  they  gathered  around  my 
basket  of  beautiful  toy  books,  and  very  often  when 
I  have  taken  my  departure,  and  thanked  the  parents 
for  their  liberal  patronage,  they  have  assured  me 
that  they  considered  themselves  the  party  under 
obligation.  Here,  then,  was  a  mutual  blessing,  they, 
rejoicing  in  the  opportunity  of  purchasing  the  need 
ed  article  in  their  own  houses,  and  I,  that  I  made 
them  and  myself  the  better  off  for  the  call.  One 
man  in  the  extreme  south  of  Jefferson  County,  who 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  213 

never  leaves  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  his 
residence,  more  than  once  a  year ;  but  who,  with  his 
family  have  a  love  for  books,  and  no  opportunity  to 
purchase  them  within  fifteen  miles  of  home,  bought 
bountifully  of  me  every  time  I  called  at  his  house, 
and  has  frequently  expressed  his  thankfulness  that  I 
had  been  sent  to  him  ;  for,  by  that  means,  he  said, 
he  had  been  permitted  to  read  books  which  he  never 
should  have  known  had  been  published,  "  Why," 
he  would  say,  in  his  eccentric  manner,  "  you  are 
doing  more  good  than  any  preacher  in  the  country." 
In  the  four  or  five  times  that  I  stopped  at  his  house, 
he  purchased  from  twelve  to  fifteen  dollars  worth  of 
books,  and,  instead  of  its  making  him  poorer,  he  was 
the  richer.  This  world's  goods  are  not  the  best 
riches  after  a  man  has  got  enough  for  his  comfort, 
and,  what  is  better,  there  are  hundreds  of  people 
that  are  well  aware  of  it,  and  for  their  own  good 
there  ought  to  be  more. 

One  man,  in  the  town  of  Parishville,  has  bought 
of  me,  in  the  three  years  of  my  travelling,  nearly 
one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  books.  After  the 
amount  had  reached  nearly  seventy  dollars,  I  asked 
him  if  he  would  take  what  they  had  cost  him,  now 
he  had  read  them,  and  have  them  taken  out  of  his 
house,  and  never  see  them  again ;  "  No,"  he  said, 
"  not  as  long  as  I  have  enough  to  eat  and  wear  with 
out  it."  But  there  are  striking  contrasts  to  this 


214  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

value  of  reading  matter,  in  the  estimation  of  some 
people,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  as  an  incident  which  I 
will  relate  will  show  you  ;  and  before  relating  it,  I 
will  caution  you  not  to  think  it  must  have  occurred 
away  up  here  in  the  "  south  woods  ;  "  no,  not  here, 
for  I  am  happy  to  state  that  I  have  never  happened 
to  "  light  on  "  such  a  man  as  that  in  St.  Lawrence 
County  ;  and,  for  fear  you  will  be  charging  it  upon 
some  of  the  innocent  people  up  on  "  John  Brown's 
Tract,"  in  Lewis  County,  or  the  barren  hills  of 
Clinton  County,  or  in  some  back  woods  in  Canada, 
for  you  know  I  have  been  in  all  these  places,  I  am 
just  going  to  tell  you  where  it  was.  "Well,  it  was 
right  in  "WatertoAvn,  not  more  than  three  miles  from 
the  village ;  but  "  don't  tell  of  it,"  for  that  is  the 
very  town,  you  know,  I  have  told  you  so  many 
good  things  about,  in  my  former  letters,  because  I 
was  born  and  "  brought  up  "  there.  Now  for  the 
incident.  It  was  on  a  lovely  street,  that  I  had  not 
been  for  years,  though  I  was  somewhat  acquainted 
with  the  inhabitants.  The  house  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  in  all  that  locality.  As  I  neared  it, 
the  first  object  that  attracted  my  attention,  was  the 
large  quantity  of  green  lattice-work  surrounding  it. 
This  was  loaded  with  flowering  vines,  and  the  season 
was  that  in  which  nature  puts  on  her  liveliest  dress. 
The  building  itself  was  snowy  white,  with  green 
blinds,  and  the  profusion  of  lattice-work  spoken  of. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  215 

Ah,  thought  I,  as  I  stepped  from  the  carriage,  here 
is  a  very  tasty  man's  dwelling  ;  he  must  have  studied 
all  the  books  and  papers  on  rural  architecture,  and 
here,  in  this  beautiful  home,  he  has  put  his  knowl 
edge  to  good  practical  account.  I  stepped  on  to  the 
piazza  and  rapped  on  the  front  door,  for  there  was 
no  bell,  and  a  gruff  voice  inside,  said  "  Come  in." 
As  I  opened  the  door,  a  cloud  of  pent  up  tobacco 
smoke  met  me  in  the  face,  so  thick  that  you  could 
cut  it  with  a  knife.  A  strong  breeze  which  was 
blowing  from  the  lake,  soon  cleared  the  way  for  an 
entrance,  and  as  I  said  "good  evening,"  I  made  the 
discovery  that  the  man  was  one  whom  I  had  known 
in  former  years.  He  and  his  young  wife  sat  near 
together,  both  smoking  long  pipes,  and  the  lady  was 
nursing  a  baby.  After  I  had  taken  a  seat  and  the 
usual  complimentary  salutations  had  passed,  I  said ; 
Well,  J.,  you  see  I  have  turned  book-pedlar.  Let 
me  sell  you  some  books."  "  Books  !  "  he  exclaimed, 
"  what  do  I  want  of  them  ?  "  "  Why,  to  read,  of 
course."  "  I  never  read  a  book  in  my  life,  and  I 
would  rather  have  one  pipe  full  of  good  tobacco, 
than  all  the  books  you  could  bring  me."  This,  I 
had  no  reason  to  doubt,  and,  for  the  want  of  any 
thing  more  appropriate,  I  said,  "I  presume  your 
reading  is  all  from  newspapers  ;  how  many  do  you 
take?"  "I  have  kept  house  twenty  years,  and 
never  took  a  newspaper  in  my  life."  The  best  part 


216  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

of  this  anecdote  is,  that  before  I  left  the  house  he 
bought  a  book.  A  new  era  in  his  life  had  com 
menced  ;  but  I  never  had  any  means  of  knowing 
what  use  he  made  of  his  book,  for  I  never  have  seen 
him  since  ;  perhaps  he  used  a  leaf  at  a  time  to  light 
his  pipe  with.  That  night  I  spent  at  one  of  his 
near  neighbors,  also  an  acquaintance  ;  and  his  wife 
said  that  she  could  testify  to  the  truth  of  his  never 
taking  a  newspaper,  for  if  the  woman  wanted  to  cut 
a  pattern,  she  always  asked  her  for  a  paper.  I  ad 
vised  my  friend  to  take  one  paper,  at  least,  so  that 
he  could  know  how  to  vote,  understandingly.  And 
for  a  little  fun,  I  told  him  if  he  didn't  I  would  have 
him  sent  to  Barnum's  Museum  as  a  natural  curiosity. 
I  have  never  found  in  my  travels,  besides  himself, 
but  one  man,  who  did  not  take  a  newspaper  for  his 
family,  who  could  read,  and  this  one  did  not  make  it 
a  rule  never  to  take  one.  Imagine,  dear  F.,  the 
consequences  of  every  family  in  the  United  States 
following  the  example  of  this  one ;  the  printing- 
offices  would  all  have  to  be  converted  into  cigar  or 
tobacco  factories,  and  the  host  of  printers  and  book 
makers  go  South,  and  take  up  their  hoes  in  culti 
vation  of  the  weed.  A  picture  would  be  presented 
to  the  world,  that  even  the  puffers  and  chewers 
would  turn  from  in  disgust.  But  I  will  leave  this 
filthy  subject  for  a  separate  place. 


LETTER  XXVII. 

Progress  in  my  Business — Too  much  Labor  for  Strength — All  mY 
Labor  in  a  small  Compass — Absurdity  of  the  Idea  of  the  Book 
Trade  ever  being  Exhausted— Importance  of  Parents  Keeping 
Suitable  Books  on  hand  for  Children. 

MY  DEAK  F. : 

Until  the  Spring  of  1857,  which  was  the  time  we 
were  obliged  to  move,  I  constantly  worked  at  book 
selling,  and  left  my  children  at  home  with  a  hired 
woman,  never  staying  away  from  home  over  a  week 
or  ten  days  at  a  time.  This  was  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  test  the  expediency  of  any  further  trial  in 
my  new  business,  and  then  a  change  must  be  made  in 
our  household  arrangements.  We  had  got  a  house 
put  up  but  not  finished,  and  our  new  farm  was  let 
out  upon  shares.  I  had  forgotten  to  mention  that 
we  were  in  debt  for  another  piece  of  land  oppo 
site  our  dry  forty  acre  lot,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
water,  for  I  suppose  you  are  farmer  enough  to  know 
that  a  farm  without  water  is  like  a  gun  without  a 
lock  —  useless.  Our  whole  farm  was  then  large 
19 


218  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

enough  for  all  purposes  of  our  use,  nearly  ninety 
acres.  Every  cent  of  my  book  profits  up  to  the 
time  of  breaking  up  house-keeping,  was  paid  out 
for  building,  and  other  improvements  ;  and  my  hus 
band  had  got  an  appointment  in  the  business  of  col 
lecting  subscriptions  for  the  St.  Lawrence  University 
so  we  were  both  earning  money  faster  than  ever  we 
had  been  able  to  do  before.  About  this  time  I  made 
arrangements  with  my  sister  to  keep  my  children 
one  year,  and  send  them  to  school  with  her  own» 
and  trust  to  Providence  for  a  recompense.  I  told 
her  if  I  succeeded  in  my  business,  I  would  pay  her 
one  hundred  dollars  for  her  care  of  my  children, 
and  their  board.  Accordingly,  once  in  three  months 
I  paid  her  twenty-five  dollars.  This,  with  the  school- 
books  and  clothing,  amounted  to  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  dollars  for  the  year,  which  I  paid,  faith 
fully,  per  agreement,  and  every  cent  of  it  from  my 
own  profits.  This  was  but  a  small  share  of  my  earn 
ings  that  year,  but  the  balance  was  all  used  for  paying 
up  old  debts,  and  in  improvements  on  the  farm,  after 
my  own  expenses  were  paid,  including  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  my  father  gave  me.  In  that  year  I 
sold  fifteen  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  books.  Do 
not  imagine  that  I  spent  many  idle  hours,  for  I  labor 
ed  incessantly  in  all  sorts  of  weather,  often  exposing 
my  health  in  a  manner  I  would  not  advise  any  one 
else  to  do,  neither  shall  I  again ;  but  I  felt  a  necessity 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  219 

for  It,  then.  My  ambition  mingled  with  hopes  of  "  a 
good  time  coming,"  ran  away  with  my  strength.  I 
have  now  a  settled  rheumatism  in  my  left  shoulder, 
no  doubt  induced  by  taxing  its  strength  beyond 
endurance,  in  carrying  books,  and  a  constant  expo 
sure  to  the  cold.  I  did  not  foresee  this  result  at  the 
time,  or  I  could  have  prevented  it,  in  a  measure,  by 
making  my  burden  lighter.  This  is  only  another 
proof  that  a  fearful  penalty  awaits  the  transgressor 
of  physical,  as  well  as  moral  laws ;  and  no  matter 
how  worthy  the  cause  engaged  in,  the  feat  is  inexor 
able.  A  pirate  vessel  well  directed,  and  sound  in 
all  its  parts,  will  go  safely  across  the  ocean,  at  the 
same  time  that  a  missionary  vessel,  with  a  hole  in 
the  bottom,  would  sink.  My  peregrinations  were 
not  all  by  private  conveyance,  but  they  were  in  a 
very  limited  circle :  they  extended  no  farther  east, 
than  Lake  Champlain,  nor  west,  beyond  Rochester, 
and  Prince  Edward's  County,  in  Canada.  Nine 
tenths  of  the  books  I  have  sold,  have  been  sold  in 
the  three  counties,  Franklin,  St.  Lawrence,  and  Jef 
ferson.  At  the  first  glance  of  this  small  territory, 
one  would  naturally  conclude  that,  but  a  very  small 
ampunt  of  business  of  this  kind  could  be  done ;  but, 
if  I  were  to  continue  the  business  ten  more  years,  I 
should  not  want  any  more  territory  than  this,  and  then 
the  great  failure  would  be,  in  the  lack  of  time  to  visit 
a  third  part  of  the  towns.  Not  half  of  the  towns  in 


220  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

these  three  counties  have  I  ever  been  in,  nor  a  tenth 
part  of  the  streets  in  the  towns  where  I  have  been  ; 
nor  have  I  seen  one  fourth  of  the  families,  on  the 
streets  I  have  been.  Very  often  the  people  have 
made  the  remark  to  me,  that  they  "  should  think  I 
would  get  the  community  supplied  with  books  after  a 
while."  This  is  a  very  absurd  remark.  When 
Mrs.  Partington  gets  the  Atlantic  ocean  wiped  up 
with  her  mop,  then  St.  Lawrence  County  will  be 
supplied  with  books,  and  not  before.  The  old  lady 
was  pretty  good  at  small  slops,  but  the  ocean  was 
"  quite  an  undertaking."  You*  might  as  well  talk 
about  getting  the  county  supplied  with  beef  and 

+•  potatoes  ;  after  a  person  has  partaken  of  a  good  din 
ner  one  day,  his  appetite  is  just  as  good  for  the  next 
day's  repast.  The  more  books  there  are  sold  in  any 

g|  place,  the  larger  the  demand,  as  I  know  full  well  by 
experience.  The  very  places  where  I  have  sold  the 
most  books,  are  the  best  fields  of  labor  for  the  book- 
.  seller.  Sometimes  it  takes  a  good  deal  of  drilling 
to  convince  a  family  that  money  expended  for  books 
is  a  good  investment,  but,  after  persuading  them  to 
buy  one,  the  next  sale  comes  easier.  Many  a  family 
accumulates  a  library  in  this  way,  which  the  money 
it  cost  would  be  a  small  temptation  to  part  with.  I 
have,  in  my  mind,  severaj  such,  who  have  purchased 
almost  every  book  they  own,  a  few  at  a  time,  of  me. 
I  have  often  heard  parents  complain,  that  their  chil- 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  221 

dren   had  no   taste   for  reading';  and   such,  I  have 
always   observed  had   no   books,  or  at  most,  a  last 
year's  almanac  and  a  bible.    I  have  seen  and  become 
acquainted  with  a  great  many  children,  but  I  never 
saw  one  that  could  not  be  attracted  with  the  right 
kind  of  a  book  for  its  capacity,  if  commenced  with 
at  a  right  age.     This  fact  I  have  tried  to   impress 
upon  parents,  in  my  teaching-school  days,  before  I 
had  any  special  interest  in  the   sale  of  books.     The 
time  has  been  when  parents  honestly  thought  their 
duty  was    done   in  that   direction,  when   they  had 
bought  a  spelling  book  and  reader  for  their  children, 
and  that,  not  till  after  they  had  commenced  going  to 
school.     There    are   more   books    torn  to  pieces  by 
children  who  never  see  one  more  than  once  a  year, 
than  by  such  as  have  them  to  handle  ;  so  they  become 
familiar  with  their  value   at  a  very  early  age.     As 
soon  as  a  child  is  old  enough  to  hold  a  book  open, 
and  turn  the  leaves  over,  it  is  old  enough  to  own  a 
picture  book. 

19* 


LETTER  XXVIII. 

Gratitude  for  Favors — Kind  Treatment  and  Liberal  Patronage — 
Forbearance  of  Creditors — Means  of  success  in  selling  Valuable 
Books — American  Portrait  Gallery—  Livingston's  Travels — Re 
collections  of  a  Life  Time,  by  S.  G.  Goodrich — Horace  Greeley's 
opinion  of  Biographies. 

MY  DEAR  F. : — 

I  have  dwelt  somewhat  in  particulars,  in  my  last 
two  or  three  epistles,  as  it  seemed  necessary  to  give  , 
you  an  idea  of  the  causes  which  operated  to  drive 
one  into  an  unusual  field  of  labor  for  women.  Of 
course  there  have  been  a  few  Mrs.  Prims  and  Miss 
Chatty s,  who  thought  it  was  "  very  improper,"  but 
these  have  never  treated  me  any  other  way  than 
well,  in  my  presence,  and  have  laid  no  particular 
obstruction  in  my  path.  I  could  not  reasonably 
expect  any  thing  further  of  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  words  would  fail  were  I  to  attempt  to  express 
my  thanks  to  those  who  have  assisted  me  with  their 
liberal  patronage,  recommendations,  and  hospitality  ; 
they  have  all  been  poured  out  with  an  unsparing 
hand,  to  make  bright  my  pathway,  and  I  feel  now 
that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  repay  them,  so  great 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  223 

is  my  obligation.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that, 
as  far  as  my  business  is  concerned,  I  have  never  met 
with  any  but  the  kindest  treatment,  and  I  have 
dealt  with  thousands  of  people.  I  have  read  and 
heard  of  those  engaged  in  similar  business,  and  have 
seen  some  ladies  in  the  cars,  merely  travelling  short 
routes,  who  have  complained  of  ill-treatment  from 
baggage-masters  and  conductors  ;  but  my  observa 
tion  and  experience  have  all  been  on  the  "  angel 
side  "  of  human  nature.  My  habit  has  always  been 
to  speak  respectfully  and  treat  with  civility  all  whose 
business  it  was  to  wait  upon  me  in  public  places, 
and,  without  an  exception  that  has  been  the  kind  of 
treatment  I  have  received  in  return,  for  the  three 
years  I  was  constantly  travelling.  Rail-road  con 
ductors,  baggage-masters,  steamboat  captains,  stage 
drivers,  and  hotel  keepers,  have  all  been  perfect  gen 
tlemen,  and  generally  patronized  me  liberally. 

I  have  sold  and  bought  books  on  credit  to  large 
amounts,  and  have  never,  out  of  hundreds  of  cases, 
and  many  of  them  entire  strangers  on  the  start, 
found  more  than  four  or  five  who  did  not  meet  their 
obligations  as  they  agreed ;  and  these,  the  majority 
of  them,  lacked  ability  as  well  as  disposition  to  pay. 
I  have  but  one,  now  in  my  mind,  who  showed  a  dis 
position  to  be  dishonest,  and  this  one  was  a  girl,  a 
fresh  importation  from  Erin's  Isle  :  she  failed  in  the 
attempt. 


224  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

It  seems  to  be  quite  a  satisfaction  to  some  talkers 
and  writers,  to  villify  human  nature  by  putting  their 
morals  and  practices  to  the  lowest  ebb  ;  but  the  facts 
undoubtedly  are,  that  a  very  large  majority  of  man 
kind,  are  naturally  honest,  and  do  more  good,  ten 
fold,  than  bad  actions. 

When  I  look  back  upon  it  now,  it  seems  unac 
countable  to  me  how  large  amounts  different  firms 
in  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  have  sent 
me  on  credit,  with  no  means  of  knowing  whether  I 
had  either  ability  or  inclination  to  pay.  They  all 
took  my  word,  that  I  would  remit  at  some  future 
time,  which  I  always  did.  But  one  firm  ever  re 
quired  me  to  pay  in  advance,  and  that  was  Fowler 
&  Wells,  New  York,  that  being  their  invariable 
rule. 

In  one  of  my  orders  to  New  York,  to  a  strange 
and  new  firm,  I  mentioned  that  I  had  bought  books 
of-G.  Collins,  Philadelphia.  They  filled  my  order 
immediately,  but  in  about  a  week  I  received  the  fol 
lowing  from  Collins.  "  A  few  days  since  I  received 
a  note  from  a  New  York  bookseller,  asking  who  you 
were !  So  I  suppose  you  are  getting  into  an  exten 
sive  business.  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  I  stated,  in 
reply  to  the  note,  that  I  would  fill  your  order  to  any 
amount." 

I  bought  and  sold  a  great  many  Philadelphia  pub 
lications,  but  all  of  them  through  the  agency  of  this 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  225 

one  publisher,  in  that  place.  The  firms  in  Boston 
who  have  so  kindly  waited  my  convenient  pay-day* 
are,  Abel  Tompkins,  J.  M.  Usher,  and  Bela  Marsh. 
New  York — Miller,  Orton  &  Mulligan,  C.  M.  Sax- 
ton  &  Co.,  and  J.  M.  Emerson  &  Co.  Ogdens- 
burgh,  H.  F.  Lawrence  has  filled  my  orders  to  any 
amount  desired,  and,  laterly,  I  have  purchased 
indiscriminately  of  him,  publications  from  almost 
every  house  in  the  eastern  cities,  and  for  his  kind 
ness,  affability,  and  prompt  attention  to  orders,  he 
has  my  most  grateful  remembrance.  The  same  is 
true  of  J.  H.  Sedley,  of  Potsdam,  and  Hall  &  Rogers, 
of  Watertown.  I  have  good  reason  to  believe  that 
I  have  still  the  entire  confidence  of  all  the  above 
named  gentlemen,  though  I  have  never  seen  one  of 
them,  except  the  last  named.  I  have  two  motives  in 
mentioning  these  facts  ;  first,~for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  may  have  read  Miss  Mendell's  book,  the  young 
lady  who  was  the  pioneer  female  bookseller  here,  in 
northern  New  York.  She  speaks  disparagingly  of 
some  New  Yew  York  book  dealers,  and  this  is  to 
certify  that  they  have  dealt  honorably  with  me  with 
out  an  exception.  Second,  for  the  benefit  of  young 
men,  and  women,  too,  if  any  should  wish  to  engage 
in  this  pleasant  and  profitable  business.  Most  cheer 
fully  do  I  point  to  them  as  worthy  of  reliance  and 
patronage.  I  had  not  a  farthing  to  commence  with, 
except  the  avails  of  my  sales,  and  perhaps  others  in 


226  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

like  circumstances,  would  be  inspired  with  confi 
dence  to  commence  on  this  no-capital  scale,  by  hav 
ing  a  way  marked  out.  The  only  way  for  me  to 
succeed  in  selling  any  book,  is  to  become  familiar 
with  its  contents,  and  give  the  customer  a  little  out 
line  of  its  plan  and  subject.  I  know,  in  this  way, 
that  I  have  sold  more  than  double  the  books  that  I 
could,  to  be  ignorant  of  what  they  treated.  In 
every  place  I  have  visited,  I  have  secured  a  regular 
set  of  customers  ;  and,  after  becoming  acquainted 
with  me,  if  I  told  them  that  I  knew  nothing  about 
the  merits  of  a  book,  they  took  it  as  evidence,  that 
it  wasn't  worth  knowing  anything  about.  Here  I 
must  call  your  attention  to  some  few  publications 
that  I  have  read  and  sold  with  great  satisfaction, 
because  I  consider  them  very  valuable  for  the  gen 
eral  reader,  especially  those  whose  means  restrict 
them  to  a  small  library ;  some  of  these  works  are  a 
whole  library  in  themselves.  The  American  Por 
trait  Gallery,  published  by  J.  M.  Emerson  &  Co., 
New  York.  It  contains  three  hundred  and  fifty 
portraits  of  eminent  Americans,  and  a  sketch  of  the 
life  of  each,  commencing  with  Christopher  Columbus, 
and  coming  down  to  the  present  time.  These 
sketches  occupy  nearly  eight  hundred  pages,  and 
include  almost  every  event  in  American  history.  I 
have  sold  one  hundred  and  eighty  copies  of  this  ; 
price  $3.50.  Livingston's  Travel's  in  Africa,  is  an 


AND  KECOLLECTIONS.  227 

extremely  valuable  book,  and  contains  a  host  of  in 
formation  not  found  in  any  other.  There  are  four 
different  editions  and  prices  of  this  work.  I  have 
sold  large  quantities  of  each  variety.  The  largest 
one  is  sold  for  $3.00. 

I  intended,  dear  F.,  to  speak  of  many  other  books, 
and  give  you  a  little  idea  of  their  contents.  I  dis 
tributed  eighty  copies  of  S.  Gr.  Goodrich's  (Peter 
Parley)  Eecollections  of  a  Life  Time,  which,  I 
believe,  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  readers,  gener 
ally.  It  contains  two  large  octavo  volumes  of  about 
twelve  hundred  pages,  price  $ 3.00.  This  book  has 
been  largely  criticized  by  the  press,  perhaps  more 
on  account  of  the  political  opinions  of  the  author, 
than  for  any  other  reason.  A  cousin  of  mine,  an 
eccentric  genius,  John  Sheldon,  Esq.,  of  Watertown, 
being  asked  his  opinion  of  the  merits  of  this  work, 
said ;  "  O,  he  deals  -too  much  in  minutiae  ;  Peter 
recollected  too  many  things."  He  does  not,  it  seems, 
have  much  affinity  for  Horace  Greeley's  opinion  of 
biographies.  Parton,  the  author  of  Greeley's  bio 
graphy,  said  that  he  called  on  him  while  this  work 
was  in  preparation,  but  Horace  was  entirely  ignorant 
of  the  existence  of  his  own  history  that  was  being 
prepared,  and  Parton  asked  him  what  he  thought  of 
such  and  such  biographies,  pointing  to  several  dif 
ferent  ones ;  "  O,"  said  he,  "  I  don't  like  any  of 
them ;  there  is  not  a  perfect  biography  hi  the  country. 


228 


PERSONAL    SKETCHES 


They  don't  write  particulars  enough.  For  my  part 
I  want  to  know  what  a  man  ate  for  his  breakfast, 
and  what  kind  of  stockings  he  wore."  "  On  this 
occasion,  says  Parton,  "  Horace's  were  white,  with 
a  hole  in  each  heel !" 


LETTER  XXIX. 

Journey  to  Malone,  Hopkinton,  Nicholsville  and  Bangor— Franklin 
County  Fair — Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Sam  Houston. 

Malone,  Franklin  Co.,  Sept.  15,  1860. 
MY  DEAR  F. : 

Having  a  little  business  in  this  beautiful  village, 
the  county  seat  of  Franklin,  by  way  of  collecting  a 
few  stray  shillings,  and  knowing  that  I  should  see 
"  everybody,"  because  it  is  the  time  of  the  meeting 
of  the  Agricultural  Society  and  Fair,  and  Horace 
Greeley  was  advertised  to  address  them,  and,  having 
a  desire  to  see,  and  hear  speak,  a  man  of  whom  I 
had  heard  and  read  so  much,  I  thought  this  might 
be  my  only  opportunity  while  I  lived  ;  so  I  rode  out 
here  yesterday  from  home,  a  distance  of  twenty-six 
.miles.  Being  the  whole  load  myself,  passenger, 
driver  and  all,  I  had  as  much  room  as  I  wanted, 
and  none  to  interrupt  my  observations  or  reflections 
over  this  beautiful  road.  A  panorama  of  pleasant 
fields,  meadows,  and  orchards,  slowly  opened  to  my 
view,  spotted  with  dwellings  of  varied  hues,  size  and 
20 


230  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

architecture,  and  now  and  then  a  neat  little  village 
arose  before  me.  The  first  one  of  these  was  Hopkin- 
ton,  with  its  broad  plat  of  green  in  the  centre — with 
its  few  tasty  white  cottages  hovering  around  it, 
almost  hidden  in  foliage, — and  back  of  it,  its  one 
church,  with  spire  pointing  towards  heaven  ;  and  in 
the  distance  at  the  left,  the  beautiful  burial-place, 
where  the  high  and  the  low  have  found  their  rest 
together. 

Next  in  the  panorama  is  Nicholsville,  the  main 
part  of  it  in  the  town  of  Lawrence,  standing  on  two 
hills  divided  by  a  deep  ravine  cut  by  the  St.  Regis 
river.  This  is  a  busy,  bustling  little  place,  more 
alive  than  dead,  or  they  never  could  raise  energy 
enough  to  climb  these  steep  hills.  "  Better  wear 
out  than  rust  out,"  is  a  good  motto,  and  here  they 
are  practising  on  it. 

Then,  West  Bangor  and  South  Bangor,  both 
pretty  places,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  farming 
section,  now  all  still  and  quiet,  because  they  are 
gone  to  the  Fair,  to  a  man,  woman,  and  child.  Mr. 
Greeley's  address  was  plain,  practical,  and  laden 
with  rather  a  scarce  article,  "  common  sense."  He 
did  not  deliver  a  lingo  of  hard  chemical  words  and 
phrases,  wholly  unintelligible  to  farmers,  or  any 
body  else  but  philosophers.  He  talked  about  the 
different  modes  of  cultivation,  and  of  the  implements, 
giving  his  own  experience  and  opinion  with  regard 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  231 

to  various  experiments.  The  Fair-ground  here,  is 
the  most  beautiful  one  that  can  be  imagined  ;  a  level 
surface  containing  the  requisite  number  of  acres  and 
completely  surrounded  with  hills,  except  on  the  side 
of  the  entrance,  fronting  the  broad  street.  After 
the  address,  almost  anything  you  could  think  of  was 
on  exhibition,  from  a  baby  eight  months  old,  weigh 
ing  one  hundred  pounds,  down  to  a  cage  full  of  that 
"  subtle  beast "  that  beguiled  Eve.  The  baby  was 
a  native  of  Green  Bay,  in  the  north  of  Michigan. 
I  beg  of  you,  dear  F.,  not  to  send  any  more  "  Michi- 
ganders  "  down  this  way,  if  they  are  all  as  large  as 
that  one,  in  proportion  to  their  age. 

There  are  not  many  prettier  or  more  enterprising 
villages  in  northern  New  York,  than  Malone.  Its 
situation  is  beautiful ;  on  hills  between  which  Salmon 
River  flows,  and  which  overlook  a  large  and  fertile 
territory.  One  needs  only  to  pass  through  a  place 
to  see  whether  the  inhabitants  have  any  enterprise. 
Here,  thrift  and  industry  are  visible  at  every  turn. 
The  hum  of  busy  machinery,  and  the  hurrying  to 
and  fro  of  laborers,  clerks,  and  sewing-girls,  to  their 
meals,  at  the  sound  of  the  gong,  is  evidence  that 
they  do  not  eat  the  bread  of  idleness. 

September  IQth. — Last  night  there  was  a  great 
political  demonstration  here.  Two  distinguished 
speakers,  Hon.  L.  E.  Chittenden,  of  Burlington, 
Vermont,  and  Hon.  H.  B.  Stanton,  of  Seneca 


232  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

County,  in  this  State,  besides  a  great  crowd  of 
"  Wide-awakea."  I  listened  until  a  late  hour  to 
their  arguments,  and  then  retired,  thoroughly  ex 
hausted. 

This  morning  at  seven  o'clock,  when  the  breakfast 
bell  rung,  and  found  me  still  wandering  in  the  land 
of  dreams,  I  felt  as  though  I  should  make  a  good 
captain  to  a  company  of  fast-asleeps,  if  such  a  one 
could  be  formed  ;  and,  at  the  table,  Mr.  Hardy,  my 
good  host,  thought  he  could  furnish  me  with  a  lieu 
tenant,  looking  up  at  his  wife.  There  are,  at  least, 
four  candidates  for  the  Presidency,  in  this  campaign, 
and  not  the  least  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  is 
Major  General  Samuel  Houston.  He  is  a  man  of 
very  eccentric  character,  and  no  diminutive  calibre 
intellectually,  and,  would,  perhaps,  honor  the  office 
as  much  as  some  who  have  already  filled  it.  This  is 
saying  but  very  little  in  his  praise.  From  the  first 
dawn  of  his  public  career,  which  commenced  as 
early  as  1820,  he  has  been  the  subject  of  a  large 
amount  of  newspaper  vituperation  and  bickering. 
Some  of  the  public  prints  make  him  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  and  say  that,  he  was  early  in  life  elected 
Governor  of  that  State.  Probably  neither  is  cor 
rect.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  removed  to 
Tennessee  when  he  was  but  a  young  lad,  and  became 
Governor  of  that  State  in  1827,  after  having  been 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  severa* 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  233 

successive  terms.  Soon  after  his  term  of  office  of 
Governor,  expired,  he  divided  his  property  with  his 
wife,  and  they  separated,  for  reasons  best  known  to 
themselves.  He  has  been  a  very  successful  military 
man,  serving  under  the  immediate  eye  of  General 
Jackson,  and,  in  after-life,  enjoyed  the  honors  of 
high  offices  in  various  military  companies.  When 
he  separated  from  his  wife,  from  some  wholly  unac 
countable  motive,  he  left  the  society  of  civilized  life, 
and  took  up  his  abode,  for  several  years,  with 
savages.  A  writer  of  a  Vermont  paper  says,  he 
travelled  with  him  on  a  steamboat  down  the  Ohio 
river,  on  his  way  as  Indian  agent,  to  visit  a  tribe  in 
the  far  West,  the  chief  of  whom  had  adopted  him 
as  a  son.  He  is  described  as  having  on  a  suit  of 
Indian  clothing,  unsocial  and  stiff  in  his  manners. 
He  visited  Washington  after  returning  to  civilization, 
in  his  usual  garb,  and  was  supposed  to  be  an  alien 
from  savage  life,  until  he  practiced  a  little  of  it  in 
cowhiding  Stanbridge,  M.  C.,  for  slandering  General 
Jackson.  After  this  we  find  him  in  Texas,  acting  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Texian  forces  against 
Mexico,  where  he  is  described  by  Kendall  in  his 
Santa  Fee  expedition,  or  some  other  writer,  perhaps 
Jones,  in  his  American  Biographies,  as  being  at  the 
head  of  a  varied  multitude,  embracing  all  classes, 
from  the  most  moral  to  the  utterly  abandoned  ;  but 
his  military  tact  and  natural  disposition  to  govern, 
20* 


234  PERSONAL     SKETCHES 

kept  them  in  subjection,  and  then  followed  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  and  bloody  struggles  on  record, 
which  resulted  in  a  complete  Texian  victory,  though 
their  army  numbered  less  th,an  one-fourth  that  of 
the  celebrated  Santa  Anna.  In  May,  1836,  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  signed,  acknowledging  the  inde 
pendence  of  Texas,  who  unanimously  elected  their 
brave  General,  their  first  President.  In  this  remark 
able  war,  Houston's  loss  was- only  seven  killed  and 
thirty  wounded.  One  of  his  officers  gives  an  anecdote 
of  a  spy  he  had  taken.  He  said  he  was  bivouaced, 
(on  guard  or  watch),  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of 
San-J  acinto.  The  General  says,  "  Bob,  it  is  in  my 
power  to  redeem  you,  and  I  will  do  so,  if  you  will 
redeem  yourself."  "I  give  you,"  says  Bob,  the 
full  assurance  that  I  will."  "  Then,"  says  Sam, 
will  you  obey  my  orders?"  "Yes,  inviolably." 
"  Then  inform  me,  before  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the 
situation  of  Santa  Anna  and  his  army."  He  pro 
mised,  and  Sam  ordered  the  officers  to  let  him  go. 
"We  were  on  the  march,"  says  the  officer;  "(and 
were  informed  by  our  leader  that  we  were  within 
twenty  miles  of  Santa  Anna's  camp.  AJ1  this  hap 
pened  in  the  night,  and  we  were  soon  informed  that 
the  distance  to  the  camp  was  very  short.  As  we 
scaled  the  breast-works  made  of  logs,  my  attcntk 
was  arrested  by  a  man  fighting  desperately,  armec 
with  knives,  .striking  right  and  left,  but  soon  fel 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  235 

wounded,  and  requested  to  see  General  Houston.  I 
soon  discovered  that  it  was  the  prisoner  whom  the 
General  had  rescued  on  that  night  from  a  worse 
fate,  and  I  made  his  request  known  to  the  com 
mander-chief,  who  sought  him  out.  No  sooner  than 
he  recognized  him,  he  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and 
said,  "  Have  I  not  kept  my  word  ?  "  In  answer,  the 
General  replied ;  "  Yes,  Bob,  you  have."  A  few 
words  more  passed  between  them,  and  after  a  brief 
"  farewell,"  uttered  with  feeling,  he  expired. 

After  General  Houston  had  been  President  of 
Texas,  he  took  to  the  intoxicating  bowl,  and  on  one 
occasion  was  himself  whipped  by  a  citizen  of  Austin, 
for  slanderous  words,  spoken  while  in  a  state  of  in 
toxication.  Afterwards  he  thanked  him,  and  said 
he  would  heed  the  chastisement  as  a  temperance  lec 
ture,  however  severe. 

These  sketches  are  all  from  memory  of  newspaper 
paragraphs,  and,  perhaps,  not  wholly  correct.  The 
Original  language  of  the  narrators  would  have  been 
preferable  had  it  been  accessible,  but  my  intention 
was  not  to  write  the  life  of  Mr.  Houston,  only  to 
give  you  some  of  the  leading  traits  in  his  character. 
If  good  fighting  is  a  good  recommendation  for  a 
President,  Sam  would  be  a  charming  one,  for  that 
seems  to  be  his  leading  propensity. 


LETTER  XXX. 

Journey  to  Westville — The  place  and  its  inhabitants — Death  of  Mrs. 
Oberia  Mann. 

MY  DEAR  F. : 

Just  as  the  golden  sun  was  sinking  behind  those 
exquisitely  moulded  hills  at  the  west  of  Malone,  I 
started  with  Mrs.  Powell,  your  neice,  for  a  visit  to 
Westville.  The  road  was  nice,  and  having  good 
company,  not  the  least  entertaining  being  Mrs.  P.'s 
crowing  baby ;  it  seemed  short,  though  the  distance 
is  ten  or  twelve  miles.  In  this  town,  the  scenery 
and  inhabitants, — all,  are  so  familiar  to  yourself,  that 
I  cannot  mention  any  of  them  without  your  antici 
pation  of  what  I  would  say.  The  best  recommenda 
tion  I  can  give  the  inhabitants  of  your  old  place  of 
residence  is,  what  I  heard  a  gentleman  of  Burke  say 
of  them  who  formerly  lived  there.  He  said  they 
were  the  most  united  and  happy  community  he  ever 
knew,  and  to  use  his  own  phraseology,  "There  is 
no  backbiting  there,  they  all  know  enough  to  mind 


AND  KECOLLECTIONS.  237 

their  own  business."  Happy  place,  surely  !  and  a 
good  model  for  imitation.  Nature  has  done  her 
share  to  make  the  place  attractive,  and  now  the  in 
habitants  do  not  deprive  themselves  of  the  enjoy 
ments  of  their  privileges,  by  neighborhood  quarrels. 
The  same  beautiful  river  passes  through  it,  that 
carries  all  the  machinery  of  Malone. 

There  are  some  changes  here  since  your  lasj  visit, 
and  the  most  sad  one  is  in  the  family  of  your  "own 
sister,  Mrs.  Mann.  Her  grief  seems  as  poignant  as 
at  the  first  shock.  The  dear  gentle  Oberia  is  missed 
at  every  turn  of  the  house,  and  a  gloom  is  cast  upon 
all  her  familiar  places  of  resort.  The  departure  of 
such  a  sweet  spirit  from  the  household,  leaves  an 
aching  void  that  nothing  earthly  can  fill.  One  so 
lively  and  happy,  and  at  an  age  when  the  world  is 
bright  and  beautiful  to  them,  the  severing  of  ties 
seems  a  double  affliction  to  those  who  are  left.  A 
faded  bouquet  of  wild  flowers,  her  own  hands  gath 
ered,  are  among  the  preserved  mementoes,  and  affec 
tion's  hands  still  place  fresh  flowers  she  loved  so  well 
upon  her  grave.  The  golden  chain  that  bound  her 
heart  to  parents  and  sisters,  is  not  severed,  though 
the  river  of  death  flows  between  them.  When  I 
think  of  the  mourning  mother,  of  this  promising 
young  lady,  and  the  scalding  tears  of  grief  I  have 
seen  bedew  her  care-worn  cheek,  I  unconsciously 
find  myself  repeating  Mrs.  Mayo's  beautiful  lines 
for  her  : 


238  PERSONAL   SKETCHES. 

"  Why  should  I  Tainly  weep 

Where  the  green  mosses  creep 
Above  the  ruins  of  a  beauteous  shrine  ? 
The  sweet  divinity  I  dared  call  mine 
Does  not  beneath  them  sleep. 

Why  do  I  haunt  this  spot, 

Where,  by  the  world  forgot, 
Ashes  are  sleeping,  whence  the  fire  and  light 
Long  since  have  fled,  and  left  but  dust  and  blight 

Beneath  the  flowery  plat  ? 

Why  on  this  fresh,  bright  sod, 

Where  foot  hath  never  trod, — 
Save  it  be  angel  foot-steps,  tending  flowers, — 
Have  I  so  humbly  knelt,  through  long  sad  hours, 

And  wildly  called  on  God  ? 

0,  Father,  lift  mine  eyes 

To  thy  bright,  glorious  skies, 
Where  nothing  fades  nor  passes  to  decay : 
Woo  me  by  smiles  of  love,  gently  away 

To  thy  pure  Paradise. " 


LETTER    XXXI. 

Franklin  County— Rivers,  Roads,  and  Farming— Lack  of  Fruit- 
Villages— Moira— The  northern  part— Westville— Fort  Coving_ 
ton  and  Bombay — Indian  reservation— Hogansburgh— St.  Regis 
Village — Allen  Lincoln— Salmon  River — Bangor— An  Incident — 
Clinton  County,  &c. 

MY  DEAR  F. : — 

What  I  have  said  of  the  general  aspect  of  Malone 
and  Westville,  in  beauty  of  scenery,  is  true  of 
nearly  all  the  cultivated  portions  of  Franklin  County. 
The  noble  St.  Lawrence  River  bounds  it,  or  a  portion 
of  it,  on  the  north,  and  numerous  smaller  streams  rise 
in  the  mountainous  regions  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
county  and  empty  into  it.  Within  my  remembrance, 
almost  the  entire  northeastern  part  of  this  State  was 
called  "  Chatauque  woods."  The  beautifully  laid 
out  roads,  hard  and  smooth  as  a  pavement,  with  the 
cultivated  fields  and  orchards  on  each  side,  make 
the  appearance  of  the  landscape  almost  vie  with 
that  of  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  it  lacks 
nothing  but  fruit  to  make  it  as  desirable  a  locality. 
Perhaps  want  of  attention  in  the  cultivation  of  it, 


240  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

has  more  to  do  with  its  scarcity  than  natural  advan 
tages.  It  is  hard  to  bring  one's  mind  to  the  fact,  in 
passing  through  this  well-cultivated  part  of  the 
county,  of  its  having  been  so  recently  covered  with 
the  primitive  forests,  especially  in  view  of  the 
numerous  little  villages  which  are  laid  out  in  unsur 
passed  loveliness  and  taste.  Among  the  prettiest 
of  these  is  Moira,  on  the  eastern  border ;  the  dwell 
ings  are  neat  and  attractive,  and  the  churches  have 
the  appearance  of  thrift  and  comfort.  From  here, 
through  to  the  line  of  Clinton  County,  about  three 
or  four  miles  east  of  Chatauque,  the  surface  of  the 
ground  is  level,  and  almost  without  an  exception, 
well  and  neatly  cultivated,  with  buildings  which  do 
honor  to  the  taste  and  industry  of  their  owners. 
The  northern  part  of  the  county  of  Franklin,  has, 
perhaps,  more  natural  advantages  than  the  interior, 
but  being  on  the  border  of  Canada,  and  so  freely 
mixing  with  inhabitants  of  entirely  different  pursuits 
that,  to  say  the  least,  the  premises  of  farmers  have 
a  somewhat  less  tidy  appearance,  though  there  are 
very  many  exceptions  to  this,  especially  in  the  towns 
of  Fort  Covington  and  "Westville.  In  the  northern 
part  of  Bombay,  is  a  small  portion  of  an  Indian 
reservation,  which  extends  mostly  into  Canada. 
Here,  the  St.  Regis  river  is  navigable  for  steamers, 
as  far  as  Hogansburgh,  a  small,  unthrifty  hamlet,  in 
the  extreme  north  of  the  town  of  Bombay.  A  por- 


AND  EECOLLECTIONS.  241 

tion  of  the  tribe  of  St.  Regis  Indians  occupy  a  vil 
lage  of  that  name  in  sight  of  here,  and  a  part  of 
their  lands  are  leased  to  a  slovenly  and  filthy  set  of 
whites,  and  all  together  make  a  sorry  job  of  trying 
farming  for  a  living.  The  blight  of  indolence  and 
intemperance  is  visible  at  every  turn,  here.  Either 
one  will  destroy  the  prosperity  of  a  neighborhood, 
and  they  generally  march  hand  in  hand.  This  being 
the  direct  route  from  Massena  to  Fort  Covington, 
I  have  often  passed  through  the  place,  but  never  to 
tarry  an  hour ;  for,  of  all  places  that  I  have  ever 
been  in,  it  has  the  least  inducements  for  a  bookseller. 
Literature,  rum,  and  tobacco,  are  ingredients  which 
no  chemical  process  can  make  a  compound  of,  and  a 
transformation  from  habits  of  sensuality,  to  those 
of  storing  the  mind  with  useful  knowledge,  is  too 
gradual  for  any  benefit  to  a  poor  colporteur,  whose 
creditors  are  anxiously  awaiting  a  remittance.  Fort 
Covington,  no  more  than  ten  miles  distant  from  the 
above-named  place,  is  entirely  a  different  field  for  a 
bookseller.  There  are  but  two  or  three  places  of 
the  hundreds  I  have  visited  for  the  purpose  of  sell 
ing  books,  that  have  patronized  me  more  liberally 
than  Fort  Covington,  and  no  place  of  the  size  that  I 
have  become  acquainted  with,  that  has  more  men  of 
talent,  and  accomplished  literary  attainments,  and 
reading,  intelligent  women.  Some  of  the  most  solid 
and  scientific  works  I  have  sold,  have  been  in  this 

21 


242  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

• 

place,  which,  I  have  good  reason  to  believe,  has 
resulted  in  a  mutual  blessing. 

In  many  sojourns  of  a  few  days  in  this  active, 
business  village,  I  have  found  a  genial  and  welcome 
home  at  the  house  of  Allen  Lincoln,  Esq.  Unlike 
many  men  of  his  wealth,  his  hospitable  board  is 
not  grudginly  shared  with  his  numerous  friends,  but 
his  "  latch-string  is  always  outside."  May  this  aged 
gentleman  •  live  yet  long  in  the  enjoyment  of  his 
abundance,  the  fruit  of  his  labor  of  younger  days, 
and  the  blessing  of  God  rest  upon  him. 

Salmon  river. is  a  beautiful  stream  of  water  on 
which  this  village  is  situated,  and  is  navigable  as 
far  up  as  the  Fort. 

From  here,  dear  F.,  go  with  me,  in  imagination, 
to  another  county,  joining  Franklin.  On  my  way 
there  "  once  upon  a  time,"  (as  the  fables  commence), 
I  entered  a  house  in  the  town  of  Bangor,  where  an 
old  lady  sat  by  a  spinning-wheel,  "  kairding  "  wool, 
as  she  called  it.  When  I  made  known  my  business, 
and  asked  her  to  buy  a  book,  she  looked  at  me  with 
an  astonishment  that  seemed  to  say  that  she  could 
hardly  believe  the  evidence  of  her  own  senses,  that 
a  women  could  engage  in  such  business.  At  last 
she  put  the  question  to  me,  "  Can  you  spin  ?  "  I 
told  her  "  yes,  I  was  raised  on  a  farm,  and  was  once 
a  good  spinner,"  and  added,  "  if  I  had  time,  I  would 
give  her  a  practical  demonstration  of  my  knowledge 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  243 

of  that  useful  branch  of  female  education.  "  Then," 
she  said,  "  she  did  not  see  why  I  had  to  sell  books," 
An  explanation  of  the  necessity  of  my  unlady-like 
calling,  would  have  consumed  too  much  time,  so  I 
left  her  busy  at  her  "  kairding,"  to  find  a  more 
profitable  customer. 

In  this  town  I  found  many  ready  sales,  and,  at 
sonie  houses,  quite  large  amounts  were  disposed  of. 
As  soon  as  the  border  of  Clinton  County  appears, 
quite  another  landscape  opens  to  our  view.  Almost 
the  entire  distance  to  Lake  Champlain,  through  the 
central  part  of  the  county,  is  a  wilderness,  with  here 
and  there  a  settlement,  and  all  of  it  looks  like  a 
newly  settled  country.  The  rough  and  uncultivated 
state  of  the  lands,  gives  the  impression  to  the 
traveller,  of  poverty,  and  unthrift ;  and,  perhaps 
this  is  true  in  that  locality,  as  far  as  tillage  is  con 
cerned,  but,  probably,  there  is  no  county  in  the 
State,  richer  in  minerals,  lumber  and  furs,  than  Clin 
ton.  All  the  dull  and  unattractive  scenery  one 
meets,  in  the  ragged,  steep,  and  inaccessible  cliffs  of 
rocks,  in  the  western  and  central  parts,  is  more  than 
compensated  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  in 
the  eastern  part,  by  one  view  of  the  grand  old 
mountains  in  Vermont,  lifting  their  heads  high  above 
every  surrounding  object,  and  resting,  in  appearance, 
against  the  sky  beyond.  At  their  base,  the  lake's 
surface  is  spread  out  like  a  mirror,  spotted  with 


244  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

1 

islands  and  vessels  of  varied  size  and  form.  Two  of 
these  islands  belonging  to  the  town  of  Plattsburgh, 
Valcour  and  Crabbe,  are  somewhat  noted  as  being 
near  the  scene  of  two  naval  battles,  one  during  the 
Revolution,  the  American  forces  being  commanded 
by  Benedict  Arnofd,  and  the  other  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Near  the  former,  the  schooner  "  Koyal  Sav 
age  "  was  sunk,  and  a  part  of  it  can  still  be  seen, 
and  on  the  latter,  the  sailors  and  marines  of  both 
fleets  were  buried  in  one  common  grave.  History 
informs  us  that  this  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
American  victories  ever  achieved,  resulting  in  the 
almost  entire  British  fleet  falling  into  their  hands, 
and  a  retreat  with  a  loss  of  one-fifth  their  whole 
number,  and  large  quantities  of  provisions,  tents, 
and  amunition,  with  other  equipages,  and  their  sick 
and  wounded  soldiery.  The  horrors  of  war  can 
never  be  delineated,  any  more  than  those  of  intem 
perance.  The  latter  has,  probably,  hurried  to  the 
grave  the  most  victims,  and  their  deaths  have  been 
as  much  more  awful  as  the  process  has  been  more 
lingering  and  torturous.  That  this  bright  and  beau 
tiful  earth  should  be  desolated  with  either,  seems  an 
unnecessary  evil,  that  poor,  frail  humanity  voluntarily 
endures.  When  our  own  country  is  threatened  with  a 
civil  war,  and  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  which  was 
secured  with  the  blood  of  the  heroes  of  '76,  the  hor 
rors  of  war  in  its  worst  form,  comes  home  to  us 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  245 

with  an  awful  reality.  What  more  revolting  sight 
could  be  imagined  than  to  see  a  country  who  boasts 
freedom,  and  the  best  form  of  government  under  the 
sun,  one  half  of  it  taking  up  arms  against  the  other 
half,  and  deluge  a  soil  with  fraternal  blood,  already 
cursed  with  a  system  of  wrongs  and  outrages,  which 
the  veriest  despot  would  blush  to  perpetrate  on  his 
subjects. 

Before  my  digression,  I  was  trying  to  give  you 
an  idea  of  the  beauties  of  the  scenery  in  the  vicin 
ity  of  Lake  Champlain.  A  body  of  water,  whether 
large  or  small,  when  contrasted  with  the  dark 

O  * 

outlines  of  the  surrounding  land,  especially  of 
highlands  where  the  variegated  surface  is  laid 
out  to  the  eye,  several  miles  in  extent  each  way? 
is  a  beautiful  sight,  to  an  admirer  of  nature,  for 
such  an  one  can  find  beauty  in  almost  every 
manifestation  of  the  handiwork  of  the  Creator. 
Here,  the  most  dull  student  can  discover  a  loveliness , 
mingled  with  the  majestic  and  sublime,  impressing 
the  mind  with  the  Infinite  which  withholds  from  no 
part  of  his  creation  a  portion  of  the  facilities  neces 
sary  to  the  advancement  of  the  human  race. 

With  all  of  its  coarse  and  wild  exterior,  this  part 
of  the  Empire  State,  has  many  natural  curiosities. 
Xot  the  least  of  them  is  a  remarkable  gulf  in  the 
extreme  northern  part,  on  the  Canada  line,  in  the 
town  of  Moores,  It  is  cut  into  the  solid  sandstone, 
21* 


246  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

a  width  of  over  two  hundred  feet,  and  perpendicu 
lar  to  the  distance  of  three  hundred  feet,  down  to 
the  bottom,  or  rather  to  the  top  of  a  pond  of  water, 
which  is  said  to  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep. 
Unlike  most  other  chasms  of  this  description,  there 
is  no  running  water  or  other  visible  agency  that 
could  have  produced  it. 

In  the  south,  Saranac  Falls,  with  their  surround 
ings,  are  objects  of  interest  entirely  above  many 
others  which  have  been  delineated  in  glowing  colors 
by  descriptive  pens,  until  a  notoriety  has  been  forced 
upon  them.  "  At  the  Saranac  Falls,  the  river  flows 
through  a  narrow,  torturous  channel,  bounded  by 
nearly  perpendicular  rocks  for  the  space  of  a  mile. 
In  its  course  its  descent  is  very  rapid,  and  at  several 
places  it  is  precipitated  down  precipices  of  twenty 
or  thirty  feet,  and  at  last  it  plunges  into  a  basin  in  a 
perpendicular  fall  of  sixty  feet.  The  ragged  rocks 
^  upon  the  bottom  and  sides,  and  the  abrupt  angles  in 
the  channel,  cause  the  water  to  boil  and  seethe,  and 
struggle  in  the  wildest  commotion.  In  high  water, 
thousands  of  saw-logs  float  down  the  river,  and  in 
their  pasiage  down  the  falls,  they  are  pitched  am 
tossed  upon  the  surges,  or  thrown  into  the  air  like 
playthings."  * 

*  New  York  State  Gazeteer. 


LETTER  XXXII. 

Correspondence  of  the  Miles  Family — Letter  First,  Mrs.  Kichardson 
—Second,  Mrs.  Lamon— Third,  Mrs.  Waggoner — Fourth,  B.  Miles 
—Fifth,  J.  Miles— Sixth,  P.  Miles— Seventh,  Mrs.  Blount— Eighth, 
B .  S.  Miles— Ninth,  Wm .  Pitt  Miles— Tenth,  0.  E.  Miles— Eleventh 
Mrs.  Lord. 

MY  DEAR  F.  :— 

For  the  closing  letter  of  this  unsystematic  series, 
I  have  been  addressing  you,  I  am  going  to  take  the 
liberty,  without  permission,  of  extracting  from  some 
correspondence  of  the  Miles  family,  for  the  purpose 
of  answering  your  inquiries  with  regard  to  their 
varied  pursuits,  localities,  and  characteristics.  As 
much  of  this  information  as  you  would  expect  to 
get  in  one  letter,  will  appear  in  their  own  language, 
in  the  following  extracts,  of  which  it  is  but  due  to 
the  writers  to  say,  that  they  were  intended  for  my 
eyes  alone.  I  am  not  wholly  sure  of  their  forgive 
ness  for  this  trespass  on  their  trust,  but  must  de 
pend  on  you  to  share  with  me  their  rebukes,  if  any 
are  given.  Some  writer  has  said,  that  in  the  letters 
of  any  person  can  be  traced  their  leading  character- 


248  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

istics.  This  may  be  so  ;  at  all  events,  they  are  plain 
to  be  seen  by  one  previously  acquainted  with  the 
writers.  If  they  should  not  be  interesting  to  any 
but  relatives,  our  very  large  circle  is  sufficient 
apology,  if  any  is  needed,  for  inserting  them. 

Fox  River  Precinct,  Aurora,  P.  O.  III.,  \ 
December  26*A,  18—      ] 

DEAR  E. — Your  letter  was  received  in  due  time, 
and  read  with  no  small  degree  of  interest.  I  de 
signed  to  have  written  yesterday,  (Christmas),  but 
household  labors  prevented.  I  thought  of  old  times 
all  day,  and  fancied  that  I  could  see  you,  with  the 
rest  of  our  family,  as  in  times  past,  going  in  and 
out  of  the  different  apartments  of  our  "  old  home." 
Mother  in  the  kitchen,  warming  her  mince  and  apple 
pies,  and  taking  the  turkey  out  of  the  oven  ;  Susan's 
children  and  mine,  with  an  apple  in  their  hands ; 
the  pitcher  of  cider  on  the  hearth,  "just  to  take  the 
chill  off ;  Pitt  and  Oren  exhibiting  their  periodicals  ; 
father,  with  his  plain  wardrobe,  and  silver-bowed 
glasses  on,  with  a  book  in  his  hand.  No  doubt  we 
have  all  met  around  the  social  fireside  for  the  last 
time ;  we  have  already  become  the  residents  of 
several  different  States.  Here  I  am  on  one  of  the 
extensive  natural  meadows  in  Illinois,  which  Mr. 
Willet  describes  in  his  Geography,  and  I  used  to 
study  about  in  school.  This  morning  was  very  clear 
and  cold ;  in  the  west,  south-west,  and  south  points 
of  compass,  I  could  see  thirty  or  forty  miles  ;  1  have 
never  seen  the  atmosphere  in  such  a  state  before. 
Some  places  were  broad  prairies,  with  small  lines  of 
timber,  others,  large  pieces  of  woodland,  interspersed 
with  spots  of  prairie.  There  being  snow  on  the 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  249 

ground,  the  distinction  was  very  visible.  After 
breakfast,  Russell  and  I  took  some  lengthy  views ; 
the  timbers  in  some  places  resembled  flocks  of  wild 
geese.  There  is  very  little  variety  here  in  the  face 
of  the  country,  but  as  you  go  farther  west,  it  is  said 
to  be  more  rolling ;  Shabona's  Grove  is  about 
twenty-five  miles  west  of  here.  You  can  have  but 
a  small  idea  how  great  the  emigration  is  to  this  part 
of  the  country  ;  and  it  is  said  that  two-thirds  of  the 
passengers  stop  at  Milwaukie.  This  place  is  called 
an  old  part  of  the  country  ;  it  has  been  settled  about 
eleven  years ;  you  can  tell  the  oldest  farms  by  the 
size  of  the  shade  and  fruit  trees. 

S.  sits  by  my  side  reading  the  President's  message 
that  brother  Pliny  sent  us  a  few  days  since,  from 
Georgetown,  D.  C.  I  do  not  much  expect  to  ever 
see  him  again,  but  I  feel  a  great  interest  in- his  wel 
fare.  The  first  time  he  visited  me,  after  our  arrival 
in  this  new  country,  he  had  just  returned  from  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  where  he  had  purchased  an 
Indian  pipe  for  one  dollar,  and  gave  it  to  S.  It  was 
made  of  the  red  pipe-stone,  the  stem  as  large  and 
long  as  an  umbrella  staff.  The  Indians  of  that  place 
smoke  willow-bark,  or  "  Kinekinink."  .... 

In  my  opinion  the  children  that  are  now  coming 
on  to  the  stage,  will  become,  many  of  them,  the 
residents  of  Oregon,  and  will  carry  the  glad  tidings 
of  the  gospel  to  that  infant  State,  and  by  that  time 
the  news  of  salvation  will  have  have  been  preached 
to  every  ether  portion  of  the  earth.  According  to 
Revelation,  20th  chapter,  the  resurrection  of  the 
saints  will  take  place  at  the  end  of  time,  as  it  now  is, 
and  then,  after  that,  appears  the  season  of  the  thou 
sand  years,  and  still  later,  the  resurrection  of  the 
wicked  ;  for,  previous  to  this  is  said,  "  Blessed  and 
holy  is  he,  who  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection  ; 


250  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

on  such,  the  second  death  hath  no  power."  But 
stop,  this  does  not  correspond  with  the  sentiments  of 
Universalists.  Read  your  Bible  carefully,  and  pray 
erfully,  and  I  think  you  will  see  that  all  mankind 
will  not  die  the  death  of  the  righteous.  No  doubt 
all  mean  to  be  saved,  but  recollect  some  will  try  to 
"  climb  up  some  other  way."  Holiness  of  heart  is 
what  is  demanded,  and  living  without  the  love  of 
sin  at  all,  "  crucifying  the  old  man,"  &c.  Now, 
sister,  this  is  a  very  important  subject ;  let  us  not  be 
attached  to  any  "  isms,"  but  preach  the  gospel  in  its 
purity ;  it  is  said,  "  woe  to  him  who  preaches  any 
other  gospel  than  this."  A  person  may  be  a  Pres 
byterian  or  Methodist,  and  not  have  one  spark  of 
vital  piety.  I  do  not  think  they  are  all  perfect  who 
belong  to  my  church. 

It  is  of  but  little  use  to  hold  protracted  corres 
pondence  on  the  subject  of  religion,  our  views  are 
so  different  ;  but  one  thing  I  think  you  are  behind 
the  times  about,  and  that  is,  the  Presbyterian  creed  ; 
the  one  you  speak  of,  is  of  quite  an  ancient  date. 
There  is,  once  in  a  while,  one  of  the  old  school ;  on 
some  points,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  one  you  speak 
of  is  not  subscribed  to,  of  late.  If  a  person  is  a 
Christian,  it  is  sufficient ;  though  it  appears  that  we 
are  warned  of  "  a  sandy  foundation,"  and  as  long 
as  I  say  anything  all  all,  I  must  warn  all  alike  to 
"  stand  on  the  rock." 

Affectionately,  &c. 

MARY  EICHARDSON. 

Pinckney,  Lewis  Co.,  N.  Y.,  \ 

May  16th  184—      ) 

DEAR  SISTER  E. — I  have  been  writing  some  letters 

to-day,  to  others,  and  thought  I  would  address  a 

short  one  to  you,  inasmuch  as  we  have  both  changed 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  251 

localities.  You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  we 
have  left  Watertown,  for  awhile,  to  test  the  realities 
of  a  rural  home,  in  this  retired  place ;  but  you  will 
see  when  you  come  here,  that  it  is  not  so  bad  a  place 
after  all.  I  have  enjoyed  life  well,  here,  better  than 
ever  before,  since  Francis  retired  from  business. 
Here,  on  the  farm  is  plenty  of  good  wholesome  air, 
and  employment  enough  to  keep  us  all  out  of  mis 
chief,  which  is  far  better  than  listless  indolence,  and 
you  know  "  variety  is  the  spice  of  life."  Here,  my 
little  boys  can  have  a  freedom  they  never  enjoyed 
before,  and  I  am  not  continually  in  anxiety,  fearing 
they  have  fallen  into  Black  River,  should  they  for  a 
moment  be  from  my  sight.  A  spacious  yard  and 
play-grounds  free  from  dust,  and  the  noisy  rattle  of 
wheels,  and  the  shouting  of  cartmen,  is  a  delightful 
change  for  little  folks.  We  do  not  think  of  staying 
here  more  than  a  year  or  two.  F.  has  bought  a 
small  farm  of  Dr.  Goodale,  on  the  State  road,  oppo 
site  Mr.  Andrew's  ;  and  intends  building  there  for 
a  permanent  home  ;  but  it  is  all  uncertain,  one  year 
can  bring  about  great  changes,  and  it  may  never  be 
accomplished.  Life  is  so  uncertain  that  it  seems 
but  folly  to  lay  plans  for  the  far-off  future.  The 
present  is  all  that  we  are  sure  of,  and  the  future  but 
a  dream,  very  often  never  realized.  I  have  learned 
to  make  the  best  of  life  as  it  is,  and  await  time's 
changes  for  the  revealment  of  that  which  is  to  be. 

The  ill  health,  and  rapid  decline  of  our  mother,  is 
now  my  greatest  trouble.  She  has  become  too  weak 
to  raise  herself  from  her  chair,  without  assistance, 
and  I  think  we  should  be  prepared  for  the  greatest 
trial  we  have  ever  endured,  for  I  am  fully  satisfied 
that  her  time  here  is  very  short.  She  has  the  kind 
est  of  care  and  attention,  though  her  sufferings  are 
great,  from  the  nature  of  her  disease.  How  truly 


252  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

thankful  we  ought  to  feel  that  she  is  blessed  with 
everything  that  can  contribute  to  her  comfort  in  her 
last  days ;  for  if  ever  children  had  the  watchful  care 
of  guardian  angels,  such  a  guardian  has  our  mother 
been  to  all  of  us. 

Watertown,  November  28^,  1852. 

"  This  is  to  inform  you  of  our  safe  arrival  home, 
from  our  journey  east.  The  day  we  left  you  at 
Brasher  Station  we  arrived  at  Ogden^burgh  about 
noon  where  the  new  and  elegant  steamer  "  New 
York,"  was  in  readiness  to  convey  passengers  up 
the  river.  We  left  that  place  about  two  o'clock  and 
arrived  at  Cape  Vincent  at  seven  P.  M.  Here  we 
were  obliged  to  stay  over  night,  for  the  cars  had 
been  gone  an  hour.  A  short  ride  of  an  hour  and  a 
half,  the  next  morning  at  half  past  four  o'clock,  took 
us  home  to  breakfast.  All  were  well  and  glad 
enough  to  see  ma.  Our  father  enjoyed  the  trip  very 
much ;  he  said  it  was  worth  a  thousand  dollars  to 
him.  We  passed  through  Vermont,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire,  and  visited  many 
places  in  this  State,  entirely  new  to  us.  I  found 
the  beauty  of  the  scenery  among  the  "  Thousand 
Islands,"  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  had  not  been  exag 
gerated  by  you,  nor  the  various  writers  who  have 
attempted  to  describe  it.  Their  variety  of  size  and 
shape,  with  the  thick  mantle  of  evergreen  foliage, 
and  their  great  number,  give  them  the  interesting 
appearance  we  have  read  so  much  about. 

Two  items  of  news  and  I  will  close.  Brother 
Pliny  has  written  home  that  he  intended  to  sail  for 
America  the  first  of  this  month ;  I  think  he  must 
be  in  New  York  now.  Are  you  not  rejoiced  ? 

The  old  school  house  where  you  and  1  graduated, 
was  burned  last  week  ;  "  peace  to  its  ashes." 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  253 

May  3cZ,  1854. 

I  will  not  detail  to  you  every  affliction  I  have  suf 
fered  the  last  six  months  in  the  form  of  sickness, 
it  is  not  only  unpleasant  to  me,  but  it  would  do  you 
no  good  ;  besides  you  have  heard  from  me  quite  often 
by  way  of  R.,  and  our  other  friends  in  this  place. 
I  will  simply  say,  that  I  am  some  better  than  I  was 
a  month  ago  ;  am  about  my  house,  but  not  able  to 
do  much.  I  have  suffered  intensely,  this  Spring, 
with  that  weak  feeling  through  my  chest  and  lungs, 
the  same  as  when  you  were  here  six  years  ago,  only 
much  worse.  It  is  impossible  for  any  person,  enjoy 
ing  the  good  health  that  you  do,  to  have  any  correct 
idea  of  the  sufferings  of  a  weak,  nervous  person ; 
indeed,  it  can't  be,  told.  You  will  be  surprised 
when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  submitted  to  the  medical 
treatment  of  your  old  friend,  Dr.  S.  He  has  been 
through  with  a  course  of  studies  at  a  medical  insti 
tute  in  Cincinnati,  and  says  he  feels  competent  to 
treat  diseases  of  all  forms  ;  he  is  also  an  operative 
surgeon.  Mr.  H.  knowing  that  I  was  very  feeble, 
came  here  with  him  about  two  weeks  ago,  and  was 
very  anxious  that  we  should  employ  him ;  being 
quite  sure  that  the  old  school  physicians  were  not 

S)ing  to  help  me  ;  we  concluded  to  let  him  try.  Mr. 
.  thinks  very  much  of  his  skill  and  intellect,  if  he 
should  cure  me,  of  course  I  should,  too. 

I  hope  it  will  be  convenient  for  you  to  visit  us 
this  Spring  or  Summer,  for  I  hardly  know  how  to 
wait  till  your  rail-road  is  done,  before  I  see  you,  and 
you  would  not  expect  me  to  visit  you  in  my  state  of 
health.  I  went  down  to  New  York  last  Fall ;  met 
E.  and  P.  there,  had  a  good  visit  with  them,  and 
should  have  enjoyed  the  journey  extremely,  if  my 
health  had  been  a  little  better. 

How  is  M.,  and  that  little  namesake,  of  ours  ?     I 
almost  imagine  that  I  can  see  those  blue  eyes  of  his 
22 


254  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

/ 

looking  over  your  shoulder ;  don't  know  but  we 
shall  conclude  to  give  him  the  Pinckney  farm  instead 
of  the  homestead,  for  his  name,  you  know  pa  gave 
us  our  choice." 

June  ls£,  1854. 

"  You  know  there  has  been  some  effort  made  to 

f3t  our  scattered  family  all  together,  here,  next 
all.  Father  wishes  me  to  say  to  you  that  Mary 
cannot  come,  consequently  there  will  be  no  further 
exertion  made,  at  present,  to  bring  about  that  very 
desirable  object ;  for,  he  says  he  does  not  wish  to 
make  the  trial  and  have  one  fail  of  coming,  for  the 
chain  will  then  be  broken,  and  the  interest  of  the 
occasion  marred.  If  you  can  come  this  month,  we 
all  hope  you  will  do  so,  at  this  delightful  time  of 
year,  without  any  reference  to  what  has  been  written 
you  before,  of  waiting  until  September. 

Dr.  S.  has  just  been  here  and  thinks  he  is  certain 
ly  curing  me,  and  I  have  a  little  hope  that  he  is,  for 
I  am  much  better  than  when  he  commenced  pre 
scribing  for  me. 

August  15th,  1854. 

My  health  is  no  better  than  when  you  were  here, 
and  not  much  prospect  of  improvement.  My  arm  and 
hand,  on  the  side  of  the  cancerous  humor,  are 
swollen,  and,  on  the  whole,  I  am  very  feeble.  I  have 
been  out  to-day,  attended  church  this  afternoon. 
Have  not  seen  Dr.  S.  in  four  weeks,  but  when  he 
left,  he  said  he  should  return  in  a  week  or  ten  days. 
I  rather  think  he  has  exhausted  all  of  his  skill  in 
my  case,  or  else  he  thinks  I  am  not  worth  saving ; 
it  matters  not  with  me,  which." 

As  ever,  your  affectionate  sister, 

SUSAN  LAMON.* 

*  Died,  October  22d,  1854. 


AND   RECOLLECTIONS.  255 

Middletown,  Conn.,  July  30,  1854. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  : — As  I  have  not  written  you 
since  our  removal  to  this  State,  I  thought  I  would 
take  this  opportunity,  knowing  you  would  be  pleased 
to  hear  how  we  like  our  new  location.  We  are  in 
good  health  and  much  pleased  with  Middletown  !  It 
is  a  very  delightful  place,  and  is  called  the  "  Forest 
city  "  of  New  England.  It  is  generally  healthy, 
but  there  have  been  a  few  cases  of  the  Cholera  here 
this  season.  As  I  have  not  yet  been  over  the  city, 
I  cannot  give  you  any  interesting  descriptions  of  the 
numerous  attractions  of  the  place. 

You  say  we  have  not  met  in  five  years.  That  is 
very  true,  but  I  made  the  last  visit,  and  thought  if 
I  waited  long  enough,  I  should  see  you  at  my  own 
home.  For  a  long  time  I  have  desired  to  visit  Jef 
ferson  and  St.  Lawrence  Co.'s,  but  a  variety  of  cir 
cumstances  have  occurred  to  interrupt  my  arrange 
ments.  P.  and  I  undertook  to  get  together  our  long 
scattered  family,  and  for  awhile  there  seemed  a  pros 
pect  of  success,  and  it  was  not  till  about  the  middle 
of  June,  that  I  received  letters  from  different  mem 
bers  of  the  family  at  the  West,  saying  they  could 
not  meet  us  this  year,  but  were  in  hopes  they  could 
next.  About  this  time,  my  husband  concluded  to 
go  to  Philadelphia  in  September  to  attend  the  Uni 
ted  States  Convention  of  Universalists,  and  wished 
me  to  go  with  him,  so  I  concluded  to  defer  the  visit 
and  go  to  the  Convention.  In  view  of  the  rapid  de 
cline  of  our  sister  Susan,  I  now  very  much  doubt 
our  ever  all  meeting  again  in  this  world.  I  never 
expect  to  see  her  again,  though  circumstances  may 
change  the  gloomy  prospect. 


256  PERSONAL     SKETCHES 

North  Adams,  3fass.,  Dec.  5iA,  1858. 

Enclosed  you  will  find  my  likeness,  which  is  as 
good  as  I  could  get  at  three  sittings.  Hope  it  will 
be  satisfactory,  and  you  will  succeed  in  getting  up 
the  family  picture,  and  I  should  like  to  see  it  after 
it  is  completed  .  .  .  We  have  now  resided  here 
nearly  three  years  without  having  received  a  visit 
from  one  of  our  friends  abroad  in  all  that  time. 

My  last  visit  home,  was  such  an  event  in  my  life, 
that  it  does  not  seem  as  if  it  could  happen  again 
very  soon,  though  I  hope  it  will,  without  so  long  an 
interval  next  time.  .  .  .  Imogene  has  just  re 
ceived  an  invitation  to  go  to  Thomastown,  Georgia, 
to  teach  school,  at  a  salary  of  $450  a  year,  with  two 
months  vacation.  We  are  quite  undecided,  whether 
to  have  her  go  or  not.  She  would  like  to  go  if  it 
were  not  for  the  voyage.  .  .  Our  Society  is  pre 
paring  for  a  Sabbath  School  exhibition,  which  is  to 
take  place  on  Christmas  eve.  Mr.  W.  and  the  chil 
dren  are  all  gone  to  a  rehearsal  this  evening,  so  that 
I  am  quite  alone. 

Many  things  I  wished  to  hear  about,  you  did  not 
mention  in  your  letter,  for  instance,  after  riding 
away  from  your  home  ninety  miles  in  your  carriage 
with  you,  I  expected  you  would  say  something  about 
your  return  alone,  whether  the  journey  was  per 
formed  safely  or  not  ?  and  how  is  the  book  busi 
ness  ?  Has  Marion's  paper  doll  bride  a  presentable 
appearance  yet  ?  please  answer  all  these  questions 
and  many  more  unasked  ones  as  you  will.  Yes,  one 
more,  certain.  How  do  you  and  Mrs.  Sandford  get 
along  with  your  little  Sunday  School  ? 
Your  affectionate  sister, 

EMILY  W.  WAGGONER. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  257 

Hartford,  Van  Buren  Co.,  Mich., 
April  12th,  1856. 

DEAR  SISTER  :  —  Your  letter  of  March  29th, 
was  received  last  Thursday,  probably  not  quite  so 
soon  as  it  would  have  been,  if  it  had  been  directed 
to  Lawrence.  Letters  directed  to  Hartford,  gener 
ally  stop  at  Paw  Paw,  fourteen  miles  east  of  here, 
but  sometimes  they  go  west  before  they  stop  into 
Berier  County.  I  have  travelled  to  almost  all  parts 
of  the  State  since  I  have  been  here,  in  search  of  my 
mail,  and  have  done  nearly  all  of  my  travelling  on 
foot.  I  have  been  to  Kalamazoo,  Battle  Creek, 
Marshall,  St.  Joseph's,  Niles  and  Mishawaka,  and  a 
hundred  times  or  less  to  Paw  Paw.  Now  for  your 
first  question,  "  What  kind  of  a  place  is  that  you 
live  in  ?  "  We  live  in  the  north-east  part  of  Town 
3,  south  range,  16  West,  (called  Hartford)  on  the 
north  banks  of  the  Paw  Paw  river,  in  a  small  open 
ing  of  between  four  and  five  acres,  in  a  triangular 
form,  with  a  good  stake  and  rail  fence  on  two  sides, 
and  the  river  on  the  other ;  the  land  here  is  quite 
high  and  the  river  rapid. 

Our  shanty  stands  about  twelve  feet  from  the  edge 
of  the  bank,  which  descends  nearly  perpendicular  a 
distance  of  thirty  feet  to  the  water.  The  country 
about  here,  say  commencing  five  miles  east  and 
about  the  same  south  and  west,  to  the  lake,  and 
thence  north  as  far  as  you  please,  is  a  dense  and  al 
most  unbroken  forest  of  heavy  timber,  consisting  of 
beech,  maple,  ash,  oak,  bass-wood,  white-wood, 
black-walnut,  hickory,  butter-nut,  cherry,  and  occa 
sionally  large  tracts  of  pine  and  hemlock,  and  some 
tamarac,  and  all  varieties  of  elm;  and  interspersed 
all  through  the  country,  there  is  more  or  less  pep- 
perage,  sassafras,  hack-berry,  box-wood,  iron-wood, 
sycamore,  poplar,  Paw  Paw,  and  Wahoo,  and  Lo- 
*22 


258  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

cust  of  different  kinds,  and  also  some  Buckeye,  &c., 
&c.  The  soil  is  generally  good,  and  the  country  is, 
I  think,  generally  more  healthy  than  the  northern 
part  of  New  York  State.  The  country  is  here  sub 
ject  to  the  ague  and  ever,  and  'other  bilious  com 
plaints,  but  the  consumption  is  very  rare.  The  bil 
ious  complaints  which  are  common  in  the  country, 
do  not  attack  every  one  who  comes  into  the  coun 
try  ;  much  depends  upon  the  constitution  of  the  per 
son,  their  habits,  location,  &c.  If  a  person  is  not 
predisposed  to  bilious  affections,  and  locates  where 
there  is  good  water,  and  not  near  any  dead  marsh, 
and  stays  generally  at  home  in  the  warm  season, 
they  will  be  likely  to  escape  unharmed.  Many  who 
came  here  about  the  same  time  we  did,  among  them 
all  the  little  ones,  and  many. others  that  I  could  men 
tion,  have  never  had  it. 

As  to  the  business  of  farming,  I  think  I  can  say 
safely  that  it  is  a  good  farming  country.  We  have 
every  variety  of  land  in  this  State.  In  coming 
through  the  country  from  Detroit  to  this  place,  you 
will  see  much  poor  land,  and  some  first  rate.  The 
light  timbered,  white  oak  barrens  you  would  pro 
bably  not  like.  The  soil  of  that  variety  of  land  is 
generally  a  white  sand,  which  appears  to  a  stranger 
perfectly  barren,  and  is,  in  fact,  much  less  productive 
than  the  burr  oak  plains,  the  prairie,  or  heavy  tim 
bered  land,  but  is  easier  cultivated  than  either. 

Bethiah  is  now  asleep,  and  the  blue  eyed  baby  is 
playing  with  the  kitten.     When  she  awakes,  she  will 
projbably  finish  writing  this  sheet. 
Yours,  &c. 

FABIUS  MILES. 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  259 

^  April  12^,18- 

DEAR  E. — We  were  exceedingly  glad  to  receive 
your  letter,  and  it  is  with  pleasure  I  reply ;  it  was  so 
exactly  like  yourself  that  it  excited  a  smile  all  the 
while  I  was  reading  it.  I  should  have  written  long 
ago,  before  receiving  your's,  but  for  the  great  press 
of  business  which  has  occupied  my  time  so  exclu 
sively  ever  since  I  left  Watertown.  With  regard  to 
your  question  about  our  place,  I  would  say,  Fabius 
has  given  you  a  more  correct  description  of  it,  and 
the  country  round  about  than  I  could  as  I  have  not 
been  four  miles  from  the  shanty  since  I  arrived  here — 
one  year  ago  last  September ;  and  I  have  a  very 
imperfect  idea  of  the  looks  of  the  country  when  I 
came  in,  as  I  was  very  much  fatigued  when  I  left 
the  railroad,  at  Marshall.  As  to  our  particular  loca 
tion,  I  think  it  is  quite  pleasant,  aside  from  all  the 
inconveniences  necessarily  connected  with  it,  which 
I  presume  you  have  seen  enumerated  in  some  of 
Fabius's  letters  to  your  folks,  the  one-half  of  which 
you  cannot  realize  until  you  are  placed  in  a  like 
situation.  Our  nearest  neighbors  have  been  from  a 
mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half  off,  until  within  a  fortnight ; 
we  have  now  got  one  within  fifty  rods,  and  I  think 
a  pretty  good  one  too. 

We  have  not  kept  a  cow  since  we  lived  here  until 
now,  and  we  have  had  neither  milk  nor  butter  for 
the  last  six  months  ;  except  occasionally  a  little  milk 
for  the  babe,  this  spring.  We  have  had  no  eggs  this 
spring,  and  I  have  been  entirely  out  of  sugar  for 
six  weeks.  We  should  hardly  thought  we  could  live 
as  we  do,  when  we  were  in  Watertown  ;  but  I\  is 
bending  all  his  efforts  to  build  the  mill,  and  until  that 
is  completed,  he  will  buy  nothing  that  we  can  pos 
sibly  get  along  without. 

You  must  not  think  these  things  are  not  be  had. 


260  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Provisions  are  as  plenty  here,  and  cheaper  generally, 
I  should  think,  than  they  are  there,  but  it  is  not 
quite  as  convenient  to  get  them,  as  it  is  there  where  you 
can  go  out  and  get  any  thing  you  may  happen  to 
want,  at  a  minute's  notice.  Now,  I  have  told  you 
all.  I  hope  you  will  come  and  see  for  yourself.  I 
have  been  to  meeting  but  three  times  since  I  lived 
here.  F.'s  zeal  in  the  cause,  is  about  the  same  as  it 
used  to  be.  Good  night. 

BETHIAH  MILES. 

Lansing,  Mich.,  Jan.  9th,  1859. 

DEAREST  SISTER  E. — I  presume  you  will  accept 
an  answer  to  your  letter  of  some  time  ago,  though 
delayed  till  this  time.  I  therefore  shall  attempt  to 
write  you  a  few  lines  from  the  capital  of  the  Wolve 
rine  State.  I  have  had  the  misfortune  to  be  elected 
a  member  of  the  Legislature.  Here  I  am,  sitting  in 
an  arm-chair,  in  the  State  House,  with  the  assembled 
wisdom  of  the  State  around  me,  prepared  to  modify 
and  amend  our  statutary  code,  with  such  additions 
and  improvements  as  past  experience  would  seem  to 
dictate.  I  left  home  last  Monday  morning,  and 
arrived  here  Tuesday  night,  and  our  session  com 
menced  Wednesday ;  so  far  we  have  done  little  else 
than  elect  a  United  States  Senator.  We  completed 
the  election  yesterday  noon,  which  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  Kinsley  S.  Bingham,  our  former  Governor. 
It  has  been  a  very  exciting  time  here,  on  account  of 
this  Senator  question.  There  were  four  candidates, 
all  of  whom  pressed  their  claims  very  warmly. 

The  State  have  a  very  fine  situation  for  a  capitol, 
but  the  building  they  now  occupy  is  an  old  wood 
building,  constructed  for  the  purpose,  but  only  a 
temporary  thing.  The  governor,  in  his  message, 
recommends  an  appropriation  to  purchase  materials 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  261 

for  the  commencement  of  a  new  capitol  building, 
but  we,  legislators,  are  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  too 
hard  times  to  levy  any  extraordinary  taxes  for  that, 
or  any  other  purpose.  The  spot  on  which  the  capi 
tol  will  eventually  be  built  is  a  square  lot,  of  about 
ten  acres,  with  a  gentle  eminence  in  the  centre,  on 
which  the  building  is  to  be  erected.  The  lot  is 
fenced  with  a  good  substantial  fence,  and  walks  are 
laid  out,  and  ornamental  shrubbery  is  being  planted, 
and  everything  is  planned,  so  that  when  the  whole 
is  completed,  it  will  be  as  fine  a  situation  for  a  capi 
tol  as  there  is  in  the  Union.  Michigan,  everything 
considered,  is  really  one  of  the  finest,  and  must, 
eventually,  be  one  of  the  richest  States  in  the 
Union. 

We  have  four  children,  all  healthy,  and  ordinarily 
intelligent.  The  oldest  is  a  girl,  fourteen  years  old, 
more  nearly  resembling  her  aunt  Eloise  than  any  other 
person  living  ;  frank,  open  hearted,  honest  and  unsus 
pecting  ;  speaks  out  freely  the  impulses  of  an  un- 
contaminated  nature.  All  she  needs  is  the  advan 
tages  that  education  under  favorable  circumstances 
can  give.  Those  advantages,  we  are,  of  course, 
in  some  degree,  destitute  of,  as  all  new  countries 
must  necessarily  be,  but  for  a  new  State,  we  have  a 
very  good  system  of  schools  which  we  are  constant 
ly  improving.  Mr.  Mayhew,  our  old  county  super 
intendent  in  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  has  been 
our  State  Superintendent  here,  nearly  half  the  time 
since  I  have  been  in  the  State,  and  he  has,  most  cer 
tainly  done  much  for  the  improvement  of  our 

schools 

From  your  brother, 

FABIUS  MILES. 


262  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Watertown,  April  2d,  1847. 

SISTER  E. — I  have  got  my  spelling-book  nearly 
completed.  I  have  worked  at  it  most  of  the  time 
since  November ;  and  now  expect  to  publish  it  in 
July  or  August,  next.  For  the  purpose  of  getting 
some  counsel  on  this  subject,  that  I  wish  for,  I  shall 
go  to  Geneva,  to  the  New  York  State  convention  of 
county  superintendents,  which  commences  its  session 
the  last  Tuesday  in  this  month.  If  convenient  and 
agreeable  to  you,  I  would  be  glad  to  meet  you  there, 
as  it  is  no  farther  from  your  place  of  residence,  than 
from  here.  My  time  is  so  much  occupied  that  I 
know  not  when  I  can  see  you,  unless  it  be  then. 

C ,  Jefferson  Co.,  JV".  T.  June  4th,  1853. 

I  have  been  "  schoolmaster  "  in  this  place  for  the 
last  five  weeks,  with  an  average  of  about  thirty 
pupils.  There  is  great  lack  of  ambition  here  about 
attending  school,  and  some  of  the  patrons  think  the 
expense  is  a  great  item  ;  so,  on  the  whole,  my  school 
is  not  as  pleasant  as  many  others  I  have  taught.  My 
weekly  average  has  constantly  increased,  however, 
and  I  am  prospering  somewhat 

The  railroad  running  through  this  place,  makes  it 
geem  like  more  stirring  times  than  formerly,  but 
there  is  less  business  of  some  kinds  than  before,  for 
instance,  tavern  keeping.  Many  small  places  are 
injured  the  same  way,  though  the  mercantile,  lum 
ber,  and  fishing  business  are  better  than  before. 
Enclosed,  I  send  you  an  embossed  palm-tree  of  my 
own  manufacture.  If  it  is  not  pretty,  send  it  back, 
and  see  if  you  can  make  a  better  one  by  trying  twice. 
Yours, 

JOSIAH  MILES. 


AND   EECOLLECTIONS.  263 

Leeds,  JZngland,  March  20th. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  :  —  Your  letter,  and  father's, 
came  to  hand  yesterday,  and  I  need  not  say  how 
very  glad  I  was  to  hear  from  home  once  more.  The 
number  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths  in  our 
neighborhood,  shows  the  great  change  that  is  con 
stantly  going  on  in  the  world.  In  a  few  short  years 
the  then  busy  world,  will  occasionally  drop  a  word, 
or  at  least  some  of  our  friends  will,  about  ourselves, 
and  we  shall  be  in  the  "  house  appointed  for  all  liv 
ing."  "We  have  been,  comparatively  speaking,  a 
favored  family.  I  was  grieved  to  hear  of  the  death 
of  sister  Roxanna's  second  child.  I  have  never 
found  time  to  write  to  her  since,  but  intend  to  be 
fore  long.  You  will  see  by  the  perusal  of  my  letter 
to  father,  that  there  are  good,  weighty  and  sufficient 
reasons,  why  I  should  not  write  many,  nor  long  let 
ters  to  my  numerous  relatives,  and  friends.  Like  a 
thousand  other  "  sins  of  omission,"  I  can  swamp  that 
in  the  one  excuse,  "  hadn't  time."  Let  it  go.  We'll 
meet  some  day  I  hope,  if  not  here,  we  undoubtedly 
shall  in  that  bright  land  beyond  the  skies,  where 
flowers  never  fade,  and  sorrow  is  never  known.  *  *  * 

One  day  last  week,  I  left  Manchester,  passed 
through  or  over  England,  Wales,  Ireland  and  Scot 
land,  all  in  about  sixty  hours.  Passed  through 
North  Wales,  across  from  Holyhead,  (Island  of  An- 
glesea,)  to  Dublin,  and  from  there  to  Belfast,  by 
railway  and  coach,  and  after  tarrying  there  a  day, 
took  steamer  for  Androssan  in  Scotland.  I  then 
came  south  through  Dumfries,  and  saw  "  Ellisland," 
the  farm  that  Burns  cultivated,  was  in  the  house 
where  he  died,  the  little  tavern  where  he  used  to  go 
and  drink, 

"  When  chapmen  billies  leave  the  street 
And  droitly  neebors,  neebors  meet- ' ' 


264  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

I  also  went  to  his  tomb,  and  gathered  some  leaves 
there  ;  I  send  you  one  of  the  beautiful  golden  holly, 
If  you  are  fond  of  relics,'  keep  it.  It  came  from  the 
tomb  of  Robert  Burns  ;  I  plucked  it  myself.  I  also 
had  half  an  hour's  conversation  with  Robert  Burns, 
the  oldest  son  of  the  poet.  He  is  an  old  man,  about 
the  age  of  our  father,  and  looks  considerably  like 
portraits  of  his  father,  the  poet.  I  called  on  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Smith,  who  showed  me  a  letter  that 
Burns  wrote.  It  was  a  love  letter  of  course,  but  writ 
ten  for  another,  who  copied  it  and  sent  it.  It  was  ter 
ribly  full  of  love.  I  saw  three  verses  in  the  window 
of  the  tavern  spoken  of  above,  which  Burns  had 
written  with  a  diamond.  I  copied  one,  here  it  is  : 

"  0,  lovely  Polly  Stewart 

0,  charming  Polly  Stewart, 
There's  not  a  flower  that  blooms  in  May, 
That's  half  so  fair  as  thou  art. " 

The  landlad}7-  of  the  house,  said  she  had  been  of 
fered  five  pounds  for  one  of  these  panes  of  glass, 
and  she  would  not  take  it.  Mr.  Smith  had  been  of 
fered  fifty  pounds  (over  $240)  for  the  letter ;  such 

are  imaginary  values I  enclose  you  a  sprig  of 

the  beautiful  heather  in  bloom,  that  covers  nearly  all 
the  wild  land  in  the  mountainous  parts  of  Scotland, 
and  considerable  in  England.  Is  it  not  pretty  ?  .  .  . 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  March  13«A,  1853. 
L.  has  been  writing  to  you  on  this  sheet,  and  puts 
the  paper  before  me  on  the  table,  and  says  "write," 
but  I  have  written  you  so  recently  that  I  have  noth 
ing  to  write,  only  that  I  have  been  wandering  around 
considerably  since  ;  have  been  to  Washington,  to 
old  Virginia,  and  various  other  places.  Have  not 
lectured  any  since  I  was  at  Watertown,  only  I  read 
a  paper  on  the  History  of  Iceland,  which  was  re- 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  265 

ported  in  the  New  York  Herald,  as  a  lecture.      I 

have  been  to  see  E in  Middletown,  Conn.,  and 

to  Boston,  one  day  only  each ;  you  see  my  visits  are 
all  short.  L.  is  spending  to-day  with  me  at  my 
room,  with  one  of  her  school-mates.  I  go  to  New 
York  on  Tuesday,  to  read  a  paper  before  the  Geo 
graphical  Society  in  the  University ;  where  I  go 
from  there  is  uncertain.  Write,  and  direct  simply 
to  New  York. 

Scarborough,  England,  Oct.  Vlth,  1860. 

MY.  DEAR  SISTER. — I  am  lately  in  receipt  of 
your  very  welcome  letterr  of  September  12th.  The 
successive  shocks  I  have  experienced  in  the  two 
afflicting  deaths  in  the  house  where  we  were  born, 
have  really  gone  far  towards  making  me  indifferent 
to.  any  future  visits  to  our  old  home.  I  deeply  sym 
pathize  with  poor  A.,  and  know  he  must  feel  deso 
late.  He  must,  and  we  all  must  bear  up  under  it. 
I  think,  with  you,  that  I  have  endured  a  shock  and 
grief  which  I  never  can  again.  I  am  glad  to  hear 
you  bear  testimony  to  the  cheerful  faith  with  which 
father  looked  forward  to  another  state  of  existence. 
1^  have  not  seen  a  paper  containing  a  notice  of  the 
death  of  either  him  or  sister  Roxana.  I  should  like 
much  to  see  the  obituary  you  speak  of.  My  Lon 
don  address  is  always  as  you  addressed  me,  43 
Great  Tower  street.  I  came  up  here  to  Scar 
borough,  last  Saturday,  13th,  to  stay  a  week,  to  get 
the  sea  air,  and  have  some  recreation.  My  life  is 
spent  in  writing.  The  hard-working  resident  of  a 
great  city,  has  one  long  battle  to  fight  against  the 
fates  in  the  shape  of  hard  toil,  bad  air,  care,  anxiety, 
&c.,  &c.,  and  he  gets  a  new  lease  of  life  every  time 
he  goes  out  of  town  to  breathe  the  country  air. 

23 


266  PERSONAL  SKETCHED 

»" 

Here  is  a  most  beautiful  place,  and  capital  bathing. 
To-day,  I  have  walked  sixteen  miles  in  a  long,  cir 
cuitous  route,  through  a  beautiful  country  ;  a  feat 
I  have  not  performed  before,  for  years.  I  accom 
plished  it  easily.  I  was  in  Ireland  two  or  three 
weeks  in  August  and  September,  and  since  that, 
twice  in  France.  My  health  is  good  the  most  of  the 
time,  at  least  as  good  as  a  slave  to  toil  can  expect. 
I  return  to  London  in  three  or  four  days. 
Affectionately  your  brother, 

PLINY  MILES. 

No.  139  Franklin  St.,  Buffalo,  \ 
October,  27th,  18—      j 

DEAR  SISTER  IT. — I  have  not  yet  been  here  quite 
a  month,  and  have  had  several  letters  to  write,  and 
some  running  about  to  do,  which  is  my  reason  for  not 
writing  before.  If  you  were  to  peep  through  the  key 
hole,  you  would  find  me  snugly  ensconced  by  the  side 
of  the  stove,  which  imparts  its  cheering  warmth  un 
sparingly  to  the  inmates  of  the  room,  (myself  and  my 
canaries),  defying  the  bleak  breezes  from  off  Lake 
Erie  to  enter  this  quiet,  comfortable  apartment.  In  one 
corner  of  the  room  may  be  seen  a  cherry  table,  mount 
ed  by  a  book-case  containing  sixty  or  seventy  vol 
umes,  among  which  are  the  Poetical  Works  of  Byron, 
Shakspeare,  Grey,  Milton,  Beattie,  Collins,  Joaimie 
Bailie,  &c.  On  the  top  of  the  book-case,  is  a  vase 
of  wax  flowers,  the  handiwork  of  our  deceased 
cousin  .  .  .  ,  I  have  attended  church  every  Sun 
day  since  my  arrival  here, — Rev.  Stephen  R.  Smith's, 
except  last  Sunday. 

Yesterday,  I  went  down  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
city,  to  see  the  ruins  of  the  buildings  after  the  gale, 
Friday  evening.  You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  de 
struction  without  being  an  eye  witness.  A  great 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  267 

maiiy  of  the  inhabitants  were  drowned,  or  crushed 
by  the  falling  of  buildings  ;  ^nd  those  that  escaped 
were  many  of  them  strippeir  of  every  thing  they 
owned,  and  are  now  travelling  the  streets,  with 
hardly  clothing  enough  on  to  cover  them.  How 
much  misery  there  is  in  cities  that  people  out  know 
nothing  of.  ....  I  have  been  to  see  Niagara  Falls  ; 
and  what  do  you  think  were  my  sensations?  It 
would  not  be  easy  to  describe  one's  feelings  on  be 
holding  such  a  majestic  scene.  Travellers  may  de 
scribe  the  width  of  the  river;  the  height  of  the 
banks  ;  the  fury  of  the  waters,  and  the  brilliancy  of 
the  rainbow ;  but  they  can  never  describe  the  lofti 
ness  of  the  inspiration  on  viewing  that  magnificent 
scene  :  here  we  look  through  Nature  up  to  Nature's 
God.  The  nearer  I  approached,  I  only  admired  the 
more.  I  could  not  feel  satisfied  until  I  had  stepped 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  rushing  waters ;  and  even 
then,  I  felt  an  inclination  to  leap  over  the  profound 
abyss,  and  "  enjoy  it  all."  There  I  could  gaze  for 
hours  in  speechless  admiration.  In  that  hallowed 
spot  I  could  not  withhold  a  prayer  of  gratitude  to 
Him  who  has  united  such  beauty  and  sublimity. 

We  are  naturally  religious  beings Near  the 

Horse-shoe  Fall,  is  a  Museum  filled  with  beasts, 
birds,  fishes,  insects,  and  reptiles,  without  number  ; 
toys  manufactured  by  the  Indians,  birch-bark  bas 
kets,  embroidered  with  moose  hair  and  the  quills  of 
the  porcupine,  making  splendid  ornaments  ;  some  as 
high  priced  as  ten  dollars.  When  we  went  to  the 
Falls,  we  took  the  steamer  "Emerald,"  and  landed  at 
Chippewa,  on  the  Canadian  shore ;  from  there  we 
took  the  cars,  drawn  by  horses  three  miles.  We  in 
tended  to  cross  the  river,  and  visit  Goat  Island  ;  but  it 
was  not  deemed  advisable,  on  account  of  the  stair-case 
being  removed.  We  reached  home  about  six  o'clock 


268  PEESONAL  SKETCHES 

in  the  evening.  When  we  entered  the  harbor,  it 
was  so  filled  with  vessels,  that  we  were  obliged  to 
go  through  a  schooner,  steamboat,  and  canal-boat, 
before  we  could  reach  the  wharf.  The  steamers  on 
Lake  Ontario  are  nothing  to  be  compared  with  those 
on  this  lake,  in  beauty,  size,  and  convenience.  The 
"  Empire  "  has  a  cabin  two  hundred  feet  in  length, 
and  furnished  with  princely  splendor 

Nov.  19. 

Thrice  welcome  was  your  kind  epistle,  which 
found  us  happy  in  our  usual  health  and  prosperity. 
With  what  eagerness  did  I  break  the  seal ;  for  there 
is  nothing  that  I  enjoy  better  than  a  frequent  and 
punctual  correspondence  with  loved  friends  ;  and 
could  I  be  certain  that  my  friends  would  take  half 
the  pleasure  in  reading  my  communications,  that  I 
do  in  writing  them,  or  reading  theirs,  I  should  feel 
abundantly  rewarded. 

I  told  aunt  that  you  spoke  of  deferring  your  journey 
until  summer ;  so  that  your  visit  to  roaring  Niagara 
would  be  in  a  season  that  all  of  its  beauty  and  love 
liness  would  appear  to  the  best  advantage.  Mr.  S. 
says  that  in  winter  it  is  even  more  beautiful  than  in 
summer ;  the  contiguous  trees  and  shrubbery  are 
covered  with  the  purest  crystal.  In  speaking  of  the 
Falls,  you  say :  'Vln  such  a  place,  how  sensibly  a 
person  must  feel  his  own  nothingness."  I  have  seen 
that  idea  advanced  before  ;  but  it  does  not  at  all  cor 
respond  with  my  feelings.  I  am  not,  as  Addison  says, 
"  afraid  of  being  overlooked  in  the  immensity  of  God's 
works."  Immortal  man  is  the  noblest  of  all  God's 
works  ;  and  the  beautiful  and  grand  in  nature  are 
created  expressly  for  the  use  and  gratification  of  his 
intelligent  beings. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  269 

Jan.  3e?. 

Another  year  has  drawn  to  a  close, — another 
dream  of  time  passed  away,  even  as  those  which 
have  gone  before  it ;  and  its  events  are  recorded  in 
the  great  book  of  time,  with  the  long  list  which  fills 
up  the  eternity  of  the  past ;  some  few  we  would 
wish  blotted  out,  and  others  we  would  cherish  in  the 
memory,  as  long  as  that  principle  survives.  Many 
fervent  thanks  to  the  Great  Giver  of  all  good,  for 
the  health,  happiness,  and  prosperity  that  have 
attended  me  during  the  past  year ;  may  I  never  be 
unmindful  of  these  invaluable  blessings. 

Your  warm-hearted,  welcome  epistle  came  Christ 
mas  noon — a  rich  holiday  present, — besides,  Santa 
Glaus  called  and  left  me  a  beautiful  mahogany  work- 
box.  I  use  it  to  keep  my  letters  in ;  it  is  almost  full. 
It  is  really  a  treat  to  sit  down  in  my  "  sanctum  sanc 
torum,"  and  read  them  over  occasionally.  They 
exhibit  a  pleasing  variety  of  genius  and  feeling ; — 
they  are  mostly  effusions  of  hearts  overflowing  with 

kindness I  have  been  reading  a  work 

which  has  interested  me  much,  which  I  presume  you 
have  read — Paley's  Theology. 

Christmas  eve  we  had  our  church  trimmed  splen 
didly  ;  the  ever-greens  were  arranged  so  as  to 
resemble  cord  and  tassel  trimming  ;  near  the  roof  it 
appeared  like  a  dense  forest.  The  chandelier,  with 
forty-eight  sperm  candles,  was  completely  enveloped 
in  wreaths  and  festoons  of  evergreen.  In  the  back 
ground,  rose  the  "  Star  of  Bethlehem."  The  bril 
liancy  of  the  scene  was  heightened  by  one  of  Br. 
Smith's  best  sermons,  and  soul- thrilling  music  from 
the  choir 

Last  week,  I  attended  another  one  of  Madame  De 
Bonne ville's  lecture  on  Phreno-Magnetism,  at  the 
Eagle  Street  Theatre,  to  a  crowded  room ;  her  man- 


270  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

ner  was  pleasing,  and  the  matter  instructive.  After 
the  lecture,  her  husband  magnetized  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Burnett.  While  in  that  state,  he 
performed  the  piece  called  the  "Female  Maniac" 
If  I  ever  had  every  sympathy  of  my  nature  aroused, 
it  was  then.  The  whole  audience  turned  pale  with 
terror ;  my  heart  beat  as  if  it  would  burst  its  con 
finement.  The  mental  anguish  that  he  appeared  to 
feel,  was  indescribable  ;  he  tore  his  hair  with  the 
most  poignant  grief ;  his  limbs  were  convulsed,  and 
his  features  distorted.  De  Bonneville  was  obliged 
to  stop  him  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  verse,  be 
cause  he  had  not  power  to  control  him.  The  whole 
scene  produced  an  immense  excitement.  .  .  . 

Poplar  Hill,  Watertown, 
April,  10th,  185-. 

Although  you  said  you  had  nothing  to  write,  your 
letter  contained  much  that  we  read  with  interest. 
You  seem  to  think,  now  that  we  have  met  with  the 
loss  and  disappointment  of  having  our  school-house 
burned,  we  shall  have  to  do  without.  What  made 
you  think  we  should  not  have  a  new  one  ?  You 
must  think  we  are  as  energetic  as  Fanny  Fern's 
44  Mr.  Smith,"  that  a  snail  is  an  express  train  to  us. 
But,  as  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  building  com 
mittee  have  about  completed  arrangements  for  a 
nice  building  on  a  new  site,  nearer  the  lower  part  of 
the  district.  So  you  discover  that  we  are  not  such 
drones  as  you  took  us  to  be. 

You  ask  me  to  send  you  some  flower-seeds.  My 
variety  is  very  limited,  comparatively,  for  at  the 
time  they  should  have  been  gathered  an  unusual 
press  of  business  caused  me  to  neglect  it.  However, 
I  have  some  that  I  can  send  you.  I  shall  be  obliged 
to  put  them  in  helter  skelter,  to  save  room,  and  you 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  271 

can  assort  them.  The  double  yellow  marigold  blos 
soms  at  the  same  time  that  dahlias  do,  and  are 
almost  as  beautiful.  The  large  round  brick-colored 
seeds  are  lady's  slipper,  that  came  in  a  letter  from 
St.  Louis.  The  brilliant  black  ones,  wild  honey 
suckle,  the  small  dull  black  seeds  are  dew-plant, 
also  from  St.  Louis.  The  large  black  seeds  are  a 
new  variety  of  cock's  comb  ;  the  small  light  brown 
seeds  are  crocus.  The  tufted  seeds  are  asters.  The 
melons,  etc.,  came  from  the  office  of  the  "  Rural 
New  Yorker,"  Rochester.  The  muskmelon  seeds 
are  said  to  be  extra  fine. 

If  you  have  border-pinks,  divide  them,  and  they 
will  spread  rapidly.  I  covered  mine  slightly  last 
fall,  and  they  have  not  been  winter-killed  at  all. 
And  my  tulips  are  doing  finely ;  I  like  them  much 
better  than  dahlias.  .  .  . 

Dec.  9^,  1855. 

The  Friday  following  the  United  States  Conven 
tion,  father  and  myself  started  for  Connecticut : 
Staid  the  first  night  at  Albany.  And  at  Springfield 
met  Mr.  "W.  on  his  way  to  Utica,  and  only  saw  him 
a  few  minutes.  Sunday,  we  heard  Rev.  Theophilus 
Fiske  preach  in  Middletown.  Monday,  brother  P. 
came,  and  we  visited  the  curiosities  of  the  place, 
and  they  are  quite  numerous.  We  went  all  over 
the  Wesleyan  University,  and  to  the  top  of  the 
Observatory ;  it  is  filled  with  curiosities.  Middle- 
town  is  a  most  beautiful  city.  Tuesday  we  visited 
Portland,  —  a  village  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
—  where  there  is  an  extensive  quarry  of  Connecticut 
brown  stone.  At  4  o'clock,  P.  M.,  we  all  (father, 
P.,  and  myself)  took  passage  on  the  steamer  "  Gran 
ite  State,"  for  New  York,  where  we  arrived  early 
next  morning,  and  took  rooms  at  the  International 


272  PERSONAL  SKETCHES 

Hotel.  We  spent  that  day  as  advantageously  as 
possible.  Went  to  Brooklyn,  Crystal  Palace,  Bar- 
num's,  etc.,  and  started  for  home  next  morning, 
on  the  Hudson  River,  by  way  of  Albany.  Again 
got  home  at  six  o'clock,  P.  M.  We  had  a  very 
pleasant  journey  and  enjoyed  it  much.  Brother 
Pliny  brought  with  him  from  Panama  five  girls' 
hats,  —  three  for  Emily's  girls,  and  one  each  for 
your's  and  mine. 

Affectionately  your  sister, 

ROXANA  M.  BLOUNT.* 


Worcester,  Mass.,  Aug.  15tfA,  185-. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  E  -  :  —  Your  letter  of  Aug. 
3d,  was  the  first  that  I  received  from  you  since  I 
left  home,  though  not  the  first  that  I  had  heard  from 
you.  I  shall  leave  here  about  the  first  of  Nov., 
when  I  shall  probably  go  West,  perhaps  by  way  of 
your  place.  How  different  every  thing  is  here 
from  things  about  Watertown  ;  the  face  of  the  coun 
try,  the  inhabitants,  the  trees  in  the  forest,  the  flow 
ers,  both  wild  and  cultivated,  especially  the  wild  ; 
the  beasts,  birds,  fishes,  and  insects,  are  all  some 
what  changed,  and  probably  would  be  much  more 
BO  by  going  South. 

It  appears  to  me  that  a  person  must  be  rather 
dull,  not  to  enjoy  such  a  tramp  as  I  have  had.  I 
spent  four  or  five  hours  at  Mt.  Auburn  Cemetery, 
rather  agreeably  ;  when  I  see  you  I  will  tell  you  all 
about  it.  It  is  worth  a  great  deal  to  go  into  the 
museums  at  Utica,  Albany,  New  York,  and  Boston. 
The  Lowell  factories  to  me  are  a  great  curiosity. 
The  prospect  from  the  top  of  Bunker  Hill  Monu 
ment  is  good,  —  beyond  my  powers  of  description. 
I  think  you  have  been  to  Trenton  Falls.  That  is 
the  handsomest  waterfall  thatLl  have  ever  seen,  not 

*  Died,  June  1,  I860. 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  273 

excepting  Niagara.  Be  sure  and  visit  the  museum 
at  Niagara,  when  you  go  there.  .  .  .  As  for 
church,  I  have  not  been  settled  long  enough  to  go, 
as  yet ;  the  last  church  I  have  been  in  was  at  Port 
land,  Me.  I  am  getting  quite  heathenish,  though 
the  people  here  are  more  piously  inclined  than  in 
York  State  ;  all  go  to  church  every  Sabbath,  re 
gardless  of  the  weather.  And  I  have  staid  at  home 
and  have  lately  read  the  Orthodox  creed,  for  the 
first  time  ;  and  such  a  medley  of  stuff  for  any  mortal 
man  to  believe,  I  never  saw.  Further  comment  is 
needless. 

You  ask  if  I  have  visited  any  Odd  Fellow  Lodges. 
I  have  several  ;  and  prefer  spending  an  evening 
that  way,  where  I  am  acquainted,  or  even  where  I 
am  a  stranger,  to  almost  any  other.  There  is  always 
a  general  turnout  at  the  Lodges  of  the  most  enter 
prising  fellows  in  the  place.  I  saw  some  splendid 
Odd  Fellows'  Halls  in*  Boston.  I  have  several 
copies  of  constitutions  and  by-laws  of  Lodges  in 
this  State.  I  will  send  brother  Abbott  one  from  here 
in  a  few  days.  I  see,  by  the  Directory,  that  you  have 
a  Lodge  in  your  place. 

"  Yours  truly,  in  F.  L.  and  T." 

Fort  William,  Franklin  Co.  ) 
Missouri,  February,  27  18 — .  \ 
Good  morning  !  How  do  you  do  ?  Really  I  can 
not  tell  which  of  us  wrote  last,  but  I  am  quite  sure 
neither  of  us  has  written  very  lately.  Your  last 
was  received  the  day  I  left  Worcester,  and  you  have 
undoubtedly  heard  from  me  many  times  since  then, 
by  way  of  Watertown.  I  remember  that  I  partly 
promised  to  come  here  by  way  of  your  place,  but  I 
thought,  on  the  whole,  it  would  be  worth  more  to 
me  to  come  the  way  I  did,  via  New  Haven, 


274  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington, 
Cumberland,  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Louisville, 
Memphis,  Tenn.,Vicksburgh,  Natchez,  New  Orleans, 
and  St.  Louis.  What  think  ye  ?  I  do  not  believe 
in  a  man's  living  his  life  out,  without  seeing  a  part 
of  the  world  outside  the  town  where  he  was  born. 
I  wish  you  could  see  the  National  museum  at  Wash 
ington  ;  it  is  worth  more  than  all  the  others  in 
the  Union.  I  have  always  stopped  long  enough  in 

the  cities  that  I  have  been  through,  to  see  all  the 

.  .         i  . 

most  interesting  things. 

I  saw  brother  Pliny  in  New  Orleans  and  heard 
him  lecture  several  times.  We  had  a  very  interest 
ing  time  together.  He  was  there  two  weeks,  and 
received  $400  for  lecturing.  He  is  just  such  a  kind 
of  fellow  as  he  always  was,  i.  e.  up  and  doing  all  the 
time.  I  am  forty-seven  miles  from  St.  Louis,  on 
the  road  to  Jefferson  city,  teaching  the  young  Mis- 
sourians  the  "  sciences,''  in-  a  log  school  house,  right 
plump  in  the  woods.  Some  of  the  scholars  come 
two  and  three  miles  ;  a  number  of  them  come  horse 
back.  There  is  a  great  deal  more  difference  between 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  here  and  in 

the  east,  than  I  supposed  there  was 

Truly  yours, 

BRADFORD  S.  MILES. 

Aurora,  III,  Oct.  2d,  1853. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  E. — I  have  been  cruising  about 
the  "  earth  and  ocean "  now  some  six  or  seven 
years,  and  at  last  find  myself  in  Aurora  with  our 
sister  Mary.  I  came  here  from  Brazil  in  July  last, 
and  visited  in  Connecticut,  about  a  week,  and  then 
returned  to  New  York,  and  went  from  there  to  Buf 
falo  by  Railroad,  and  have  since  been  saving  on  the 
lakes.  I  came  here  from  Chicago  to  ifake  a  visit 


AND  RECOLLECTIONS.  275 

and  shall  remain  several  weeks,  perhaps  all  winter ; 
at  any  rate,  I  shall  not  sail  any  more  this  season. 
Since  I  left  Watertown  I  have  travelled  over  land 
and  water,  about  fifty  thousand  miles,  or  distance 
enough  to  circumnavigate  the  globe  twice.  I  have 
always  been  blessed  with  very  good  health,  and 
never  was  home-sick  a  day  in  my  life,  or  wished 
myself  anywhere  else  but  just  where  I  was.  The 
day  I  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  I  enlisted  for 
three  years  in  the  U.  S.  navy.  It  would  be  useless 
for  me  to  attempt  to  even  mention  half  the  scenes 
through  which  I  have  passed,  or  anything  of  the 
foreign  lands  I  have  seen,  in  one  short  letter,  and  I 
will  reserve  it  all  for  some  future  time,  when  we 
may  meet,  for  this  dull  pen  is  too  slow  to  communi 
cate  anything  I  would  like  to  say,  if  I  could  see 
you.  So  good  bye. 

From  your  affectionate  brother, 

WM.  PITT  MILES. 

Belleville,  Jef.  Co.,  Dec.  22J,  1849. 

DEAR  SISTER  ABBOTT. — I  think  it  will  not  be 
convenient  for  me  to  attend  your  family  party  on 
New  Year's  Eve.  Prof.  (jr.  S.  Ramsay,  principal  of 
Belleville  Academy,  when  he  left  for  California,  Jan 
uary  5th,  1849,  appointed  a  lecture  on  the  subject 
of  California,  at  the  Academy,  January  1st,  1850, 
at  7  p.  m.,  which  appointment  will  undoubtedly  be 
fulfilled.  He  is  now  in  Philadelphia,  with  some  four 
or  five  others  who  went  from  this  vicinity.  The 
lecture  will  be  more  satisfaction  to  me  than  forty 
feasts  of  the  richest  viands,  though  I  regret  not 
being  able  to  attend  both,  for  no  one  enjoys  the  social 
cheer  more  than  I  do.  I  will  wish  you,  in  advance. 
a  most  happy  new  year.  "  The  same  to  yourself," 
I  hear  you  say,  "  and  a  feast  to  the  soul  in  Prof. 
K.'s  lecture. " 


276  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

Aurora,  III,,  August  %lih,  1853. 

DEAR  E. — Soon  after  receiving  yours  of  May  1st, 
I  left  here  for  Missouri,  and  my  correspondents,  one 
and  all  have  been  neglected  since  that  day,  for  divers 
reasons.  I  enjoyed  my  journey  and  visit,  well,  Lut 
should  have  enjoyed  it  much  better,  had  I  not  been 
out  of  health  the  greatest  part  of  the  time  of  my 
absence.  For  six  weeks  I  hardly  left  the  house. 
Had  a  physician  once,  but  he  did  me  more  harm 
than  good.  I  then  commenced  the  practice  of  Hy 
dropathy,  and  gradually  recovered ;  I  have,  many 
times  since,  reflected  upon  what  I  believe  was  the 
fact,  that  the  circumstances  of  my  having  accidently 
picked  up  and  read  Dr.  Shew  on  the  water  cure, 
was  the  means  of  saving  my  life.  Quite  a  number 
died  in  the  neighborhood,  of  the  same  complaint. 
I  tell  you,  E.,  the  medical  Faculty  will  never  be 
much  richer  for  my  coppers,  as  long  as  God  con 
tinues  to  "  send  rain  upon  the  just  and  unjust." 

B.  came  back  with  me  to  Chicago,  and  went  east, 
and  I,  back  to  Aurora ;  have  quite  regained  my 
health  and  am  at  work  again.  Mayhap  you  would 
like  to  know  something  of  the  opinion  I  have  formed 
of  the  men,  women,  and  things  of  Missouri.  I  can 
tell  you  at  once  that  nothing  would  induce  me  to 
live  there.  The  main  reason  is  slavery.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  situation  of  the  negro,  its  very  effect 
upon  the  white  population  is  baneful  in  the  extreme. 
B.'s  wife  is  the  personification  of  love  and  kindness ; 
if  you  want  to  be  killed  with  kindness,  go  there. 
Affectionately  as  ever, 

OREN  E.  MILES. 

27  Jay  St.,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  15,  18—. 
DEAR  SISTER  E. — I  have  been  trying  this  long 
time   to   get   time   to  write  to   you,  at  least  a  short 
letter,  but  my  studies  occupy  all  my  time.     I   am 


AND    RECOLLECTIONS.  t        277 

(as  you  are  aware),  a  pupil  of  the  normal  school, 
and  shall,  probably,  remain  here  about  two  years. 
My  boarding  place  is  very  good,  but  you  cannot 
think  how  hard  I  have  to  study.  I  am  in  the  first 
division  of  the  Junior  Class.  My  studies  are 
Grammar,  Reading,  Arithmetic,  Algebra,  and  His 
tory.  The  twelve  o'clock  midnight  bell,  often  finds 
us  studying.  There  are  eight  boarders,  besides 
myself,  here,  and  I  like  them  all  very  much.  My 
room  is  in  the  attic,  four  stories  from  the  basement. 
My  room-mate  is  a  lady  from  Tompkins  County, 

just  exactly  such  a  girl  as  our  E s ;    so  still,  that 

you  might  as  well  be  alone  as  in  her  company ;  it  is 
very  agreeable  to  have  some  one  of  this  kind  to 
study  with,  but  when  we  get  a  little  time  to  play, 
she  does  not  add  much  to  the  music. 

There  is  another  one  here  from  Long  Island,  who 
can  beat  all  the'  rest  in  getting  up  fun.  She  is  the 
wildest  person  I  ever  saw  ;  an  only  child,  and  her 
parents  can  do  nothing  with  her  at  home,  so  they 
sent  her  here.  With  the  exception  of  these  two 
anomalies,  we  have  a  fine  set  of  girls.  Mrs.  McE., 
our  hostess,  is  a  Scotch  widow  lady.  But  I  must 
close  and  go  to  studying  Algebra  with  the  girls  ;  we 
have  very  hard  lessons,  and  we,  (the  three  girls  in 
my  class)  have  to  put  all  of  our  heads  together  to 
understand  it. 

December  ~LQth. 

I  get  along  very  well  in  my  studies,  by  studying 
night  and  day.  We  are  kept  very  busy,  and  seldom 
retire  before  eleven  o'clock,  and  then,  study  two 
hours  in  the  morning  before  light.  My  health  is 
good  and  I  am  enjoying  life  well.  I  very  frequently 
get  letters  from  pa,  and  all  our  folks,  and  they  do 
me  so  much  good,  and  encourage  me  to  do  the  best 
I  can  for  myself.  I  received  a  letter  from  brother 
Bradford  a  few  days  since.  I  will  quote  some  of  ifc  : 
24 


278        •  PERSONAL    SKETCHES 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  a  student  of 
the  State  Normal  School.  I  think  you  must  be  a 
tolerable  scholar  now,  and  if  you  keep  your  health, 
and  attend  that  school  regularly,  two  years,  and 
apply  yourself  with  diligence,  and  keep  other  things 
out  of  your  mind,  you  certainly  will  have  a  very 
good  education.  The  value  of  an  education,  cannot 
by  me,  be  estimated  ;  by  education,  I  do  not  mean 
the  amount  of  facts  a  person  has  in  store,  but  rather 
the  right  cultivation  and  training  of  all  the  faculties 
of  one's  mind,  so  that  a  person  can  think  rationally 
upon  ah1  subjects,  and  express  his  ideas  clearly, 
fully,  and  forcibly.  If  I  had  such  an  education  as 
I  might  have  had,  I  should  value  it  higher  than  the 
greatest  wealth.  Do  the  best  you  can  while  you 
have  so  good  an  opportunity." 


March  I2>th,  1853. 

I  have  now  got  into  the  sub-senior  class,  the  one 
next  to  graduating.  This  term  commenced  Feb. 
ruary,  28th,  and  the  next  one  will  commence  the 
20th  of  September,  and  close  next  February,  at 
which  time  I  expect  to  get  through,  though  I 
may  not  be  able  to  get  through  all  the  sub-senior 
studies,  and  in  case  I  do  not,  (which  I  cannot  do 
without  almost  constant  study),  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
go  into  the  senior  or  graduating  class,  next  Septem 
ber,  only  in  part,  or  else  study  all  through  vacation 
of  ten  weeks,  next  summer.  I  hope  that  I  can  get 
my  diploma  next  February,  but  if  I  fail,  I  must 
stay  longer.  I  have  spent  the  winter  very  pleasant 
ly.  My  boarding-place  is  now  207  Hamilton  street, 
a  more  pleasant,  healthy,  and  better  locality. 

July  3d,  1853. 

I  have  nothing  to  do  to-day  but  write.  I  was 
one  of  a  number  who  went  out  in  the  country  yes 
terday,  and  walked  and  ran  so  much  that  it  was 


AXD  RECOLLECTIONS.  279 

quite  too  much  for  my  strength,  so  I  do  not  go^to 
church  to-day;  I  usually  go  two  or  three  times 
every  Sabbath.  Saturday  is  always  a  day  of  recre 
ation  with  the  Normals.  Almost  every  Saturday 
there  is  a  pic-nic,  rail-road  ride,  walk,  visit,  or  some 
thing  of  the  kind.  After  we  have  studied  hard, 
five  days,  we  feel  much  like  having  some  kind  of  a 
pleasant  stroll  the  sixth  day.  Yesterday,  we  strolled 
too  far,  for  our  comfort  to-day.  This  third  of  our 
term,  our  labor  is  harder  than  usual,  because  we  are 
reviewing  and  preparing  for  our  examination,  which 
commences  one  week  from  to-morrow,  and  continues 
three  days.  Thursday,  the  14th,  is  the  last  day  of 
this  session.  In  the  afternoon,  we  have  the  closing 
exercises,  and  in  the  evening*  the  biennial  jubilee 
"  comes  off.  "  All  the  old  graduates  are  invited 
to  come  back  once  in  two  years,  and  they  have  a 
"great  time,"  and  the  next  day  they  scatter  to  all 
parts  of  the  State  again.  Friday  and  Saturday,  all 
the  Normals  go  home ;  more  than  half  of  them  go 
on  the  Western  road,  so  I  shall  have  plenty  of  com 
pany  as  far  as  Rome.  Mr.  W.  and  E.,  expect  me 
to  spend  the  vacation  with  them  in  Middletown,  but 
I  must  go  home  ;  it  will  be  just  ten  months  from  the 
time  I  left  home  till  I  get  back ;  I  think  that  is  stay 
ing  away  pretty  well.  Our  vacation  is'  eleven 
weeks ;  perhaps  I  shall  spend  the  last  one  in  Con 
necticut,  and  return  from  there  to  Albany.  I  have 
said  so  much  about  hard  study  that  I  am  going  to 
give  you  a  little  outline  of  what  I  have  to  do  in  one 
week.  One  of  our  teachers  thinks  the  course  of 
study  too  severe.  The  length  of  our  lessons  is  "  out 
rageous,"  and  then  the  writing  that  has  to  be  done, 
is  not  an  easy  matter.  We  have  lectures  of  an  hour 
in  length,  twice  a  week,  upon  vocal  music,  of  which 
we  have  to  take  notes  ;  all  of  which  must  be  neatly 
copied  in  a  blank  book.  And  we  have  a  lecture  of 


280  PERSONAL  SKETCHES. 

the  same  length  every  day,  upon  civil  government, 
and  they,  (the  notes),  must  all  be  copied ;  besides 
all  that,  we  have  a  similar  lecture  upon  perspective 
drawing,  once  a  week,  and  specimens  of  our  draw 
ing  prepared ;  a  composition  to  write,  once  in  two 
weeks ;  a  long  review  of  geometry  lessons,  every 
day,  and  natural  philosophy,  and  higher  arithmetic  ; 
and  we  have  book-keeping,  and  all  our  books  to 
keep  posted.  This,  with  all  my  sewing,  letter-writ 
ing,  and  taking  care  of  my  room,  half  the  time,  is 
quite  enough  for  me.  The  teachers  want  us  to  get 
all  of  our  lessons  for  Monday,  on  Friday  afternoon 
and  Monday  morning,  and  do  no  studying  Saturday, 
and  go  to  church,  Sabbath  ;  but  this  can't  be  done 
always.  We  do,  sonetimes,  in  spite  of  our  best 
efforts,  get  behind  in  our  writing  ;  and  then  Satur 
day  morning,  we  post  books  or  write  abstracts.  I 
occasionally  visit  the  Legislature  Saturday  morning. 
I  think  it  is  very  interesting.  The  Professor  advises 
us  to  go  as  often  as  we  can,  but  how  can  he  expect 
us  to  do  everything.  I  wish  you  were  obliged  to 
study  as  hard,  for  just  a  little  while,  as  I  have  been 
for  the  last  half  of  this  session.  If  they  see  a 
scholar  is  getting  along  very  easy  they  put  him,  or 
her,  into  a  higher  class,  so  it  is  impossible  to  have  a 
very  easy  time.  But  you  have  heard  quite  too 
much  of  this  lamenting  about  hard  work,  and  if  you 
will  turn  over  the  leaf  I  will  tell  you  about  some 
thing  else  ;  new  dresses,  &c. 

P.  S. — Our  wild  girl  has  just  caught  a  lightning- 
bug,  and  says  she  is  going  to  keep  it  for  fire-works, 
to-morrow  evening,  the  Fouith.  G'reat  idea,  that. 
To-morrow  evening  I  go  to  Catskill,  on  a  steamer, 
for  my  celebration.  Affectionately, 

LUCINDA  S.  MILES.* 

*  Now  Mrs.  Wm.  Lord,  Jr.,  Brownville ,  N.  Y. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ESSAYS. 


24* 


THE  DEATH  PENALTY.* 


As  this  is  a  subject  worthy  of  being  agitated,  I 
shall  make  no  apology  for  attempting  to  add  some 
remarks  to  what  was  written,  several  weeks  since, 
by  "  Iota  "  and  "  Alice.  "  As  I  think  the  former 
has  done  ample  justice  to  the  humane  side  of  the 
question,  I  do  not  expect  to  strengthen  his  argu 
ments  with  any  of  my  own.  Nor  do  I  wish  to 
Detract  any  from  those  of  "  Alice,"  advanced  on  the 
other  side  ;  for  their  weakness  must  be  apparent  to 
a  large  majority  of  your  intelligent  readers,  though 
they  may  believe  with  her,  that  the  law  requir- 
~ing  "  life  for  life  "  is  a  just  one.  It  is  certainly  to 
be  regretted,  the  law  of  Moses,  which  was  founded 
on  retaliation  and  revenge,  and  adapted  to  the  con 
dition  and  wants  of  a  "  stiff-necked,  perverse  and 
rebellious  race '''  of  semi-barbarians,  should  be 
nourished  and  perpetuated  in  a  Christian  community, 
and  be  referred  to  as  a  guide  and  rule  of  our  lives, 
by  a  lady  of  the  nineteenth  century.  She  very 
significantly  inquires  whether  the  gentleman  ever 
happened  to  open  a  book  now  universally  recognized 

*From  The  Christian  Ambassador. 


284  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

as  a  standard  work,  and  read  this  single  sentence,  in 
as  plain  English  as  his  own,  "Whoso  sheddeth 
man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed."  We 
trust  he  has  opened  the  book  and  read  it  too,  with 
more  profit  than  Alice  seems  to  have  done.  This 
sentence  (which  was  a  part  of  the  covenant  with 
Noah,  and  identical  with  the  institution  of  Moses,) 
and  many  others  of  a  similar  import,  as,  an  "  eye 
for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  are  universally 
acknowledged  as  a  special  dispensation  to  the  chil 
dren  of  Israel,  and  binding  on  no  others.  However, 
for  the  sake  of  the  argument,  we  will  admit  that  the 
law  of  Moses,  and  the  patriarchal  law  from  which 
Alice  quotes,  are  binding  upon  us. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  if  this  single  provision 
of  it  is  binding,  all  are  equally  so.  Then  they  who 
framed  the  laws  of  our  State,  should  not  have  attached 
the  penalty  of  death  to  three  crimes  only,  but  they 
were  in  duty  bound  to  adopt  it  for  all  the  twenty 
crimes  for  which  it  was  inflicted  by  Moses.  For 
gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath  for  fuel,  or  if  a  man 
was  found  persuading  another  to  worship  idols,  or 
of  cursing  father  and  mother,  or  of.  keeping  an  ox 
known  to  be  "  wont  to  push  with  his  horns  "  that 
kills  his  neighbor.  A  man  guilty  of  any  of  the 
above  mentioned  offences,  "must  surely  be  put  to 
death,"  together  with  various  others,  such  as  "  suf 
fering  a  witch  to  live,"  &c.,  &c. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ESSAYS.  285 

We  could  easily  imagine  the  consequences  of  put 
ting  these  laws  in  force  at  the  present  day.  We 
would,  as  Christians,  rather  be  guided  by  the  law 
which  God,  in  whom  there  is  neither  variableness 
nor  shadow  of  turning,  applied  to  Cain,  and  instead 
of  killing  the  murderer,  like  Him,  set  a  mark  upon 
him,  lest  any  finding  him  should  kill  him."  Indeed, 
had  we  never  read  the  history  of  Cain,  we  could  not 
for  a  moment  suppose,  that  God,  the  very  essence  of 
whose  nature  is  love,  would  ever  act  contrary  to 
that  nature.  We  think  there  is  nothing  in  the  literal 
construction  or  connection  of  Gen.  ix.  6,  to  give  it 
the  force  of  a  command,  but  because  of  the  spirit  of 
xevenge  by  which  men  are  actuated,  is  is  represented 
as  a  natural  consequence,  as — "  Whoso  breaketh  a 
hedge,  a  serpent  shall  bite  him." 

There  is  no  person,  probably,  so  verdant  as  to 
suppose,  that  the  above  is  a  command  to  a  serpent 
to  bite  whoso  has  the  indiscretion  to  break  a  hedge. 

But  to  come  down  to  times  subsequent  to  Noah, 
we  find  men  believed  to  be  acting  under  the  divine 
direction,  also  disregarding  this  supposed  law. 
Moses,  the  chosen  servant  of  God,  laid  in  wait  for 
the  Egyptian,  and  slew  him  unawares.  And  yet 
we  read  that  he  died  peacefully  upon  Pisgah,  a 
hundred  years  atfer  the  crime,  and  the  Egyptians 
mourned  for  him  thirty  days.  A  more  cold-blooded 
and  horrid  tragedy  is  not  on  record,  in  any  criminal 


286 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 


calendar,  than  the  murder  of  Uriah  by  the  com 
mand  of  David,  and  yet  he  gave  up  the  ghost  in 
peace. 

This  argument  may  be  objected  to,  on  the  ground 
that  God  could  at  any  time  repeal  his  own  enact 
ments.  Certainly,  but  not  without  variableness, 
and  rather  more  than  the  shadow  of  turning.  It  is 
admitted  by  all  that  God  acts  by  fixed  and  invaria 
ble  laws.  We  should  therefore  be  extremely  cau 
tious  in  our  zeal  for  the  support  of  preconceived  opin 
ions,  of  so  interpreting  Scripture  as  to  lead  to  the 
notion  that  involves  so  utter  a  departure  from  the 
ordinary  course  of  His  moral  government.  We 
should  no  longer  desire  to  be  in  bondage  to  this  law 
of  revenge,  which  Jesus  expressly  declares  was 
given  to  the  Jews  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts. 
Indeed,  did  he  not  essentially  repeal  this  law  in  his 
sermon  on  the  mount  ?  He  drew  the  contrast  be 
tween  what  "  was  said  by  them  of  old,"  and  his 
emphatic  "  But  I  say  unto  you,"  in  language  too 
evident  to  leave  a  doubt  upon  the  mind  of  the  can 
did  inquirer.  Let  us  then,  beware  of  clothing  our 
selves  with  the  old  garments  of  vengeance^,  and  those 
of  us  who  have  ears  only  for  the  thunders  of  Sinai, 
in  this  enlightened  and  Christian  age,  should  begin 
ere  long,  to  listen  to  the  still  small  voice  dictated 
by  the  Gospel.  Let  us  engage  in  the  service  of 
the  Prince  of  Peace,  the  law  of  whose  kingdom  is 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  287 

to  "  do  good  unto  them  that  despitefully  use  you." 
And  also  bear  in  mind,  that  "  of  the  increase  of  his 
government  and  peace,  there  shall  be  no  end." 

We  may  indeed  resist  the  law  of  love  for  a  time, 
and  stand  sullenly  by  the  wayside,  while  our  breth 
ren  of  the  opposite  faith,  with  their  smiling  happy 
faces,  brightened  with  a  consciousness  of  having 
done  their  duty,  are  hurrying  past  us,  in  the  good 
road  their  Master  has  sent  them,  on  errands  of 
mercy.  But  resist  it  as  we  may,  there  is  a  strong 
under-current  by  which  we  shall  eventually  be  borne 
along. 

It  is  often  urged  by  the  advocates  of  the  death- 
penalty,  that  the  example  serves  as  a  restraint  from 
the  commission  of  crime,  but  what  are  the  facts  ? 
It  has  been  ascertained  by  those  who  have  interested 
themselves  on  the  subject,  that  nearly  every  person 
executed  in  the  United  States,  for  a  great  number 
of  years,  had  themselves  previously  witnessed  exe 
cutions.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  punish 
ment  of  death  was  never  inflicted  in  Russia  during 
the  reign  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth ;  and  we  have 
ample  testimony  in  the  writings  of  Howard,  the 
philanthropist,  to  prove,  that  so  far  from  its  having  a 
tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  crimes,  that  they 
were  very  sensibly  diminished.  There  was  not  a 
single  capital  crime  committed  in  the  whole  empire 
for  two  years,  and  this  was  not  true  of  any  previous 
three  months. 


288  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

That  the  punishment  of  death  has  a  demoralizing 
influence  on  society,  scarcely  needs  proof.  This  has 
been  so  evident,  with  regard  to  public  executions, 
that  the  practice  has  been  abandoned  by  nearly 
every  state  in  the  Union,  and  the  bloody  deed  has 
been  left  to  be  done  privately,  by  the  sheriff  and  his 
attendants,  save,  perhaps,  the  poor  criminal,  may  be 
allowed  the  benefit  of  a  "  spirkual  adviser."  It  is 
well  known  that  in  years  past,  when  public  execu 
tions  were  allowed,  the  appointed  day  for  the  judicial 
murder  of  a  fellow  being,  was  marked  by  riot, 
drunkenness,  and  the  fearful  amount  of  crime  gene 
rated  at  such  gatherings,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate. 
One  instance  was  published  in  a  religious  journal  in 
Philadelphia :  "  On  the  evening  of  the  day  when 
Lecher  was  hung  at  Lancaster,  in  1822,  twenty- 
eight  persons  were  committed  to  prison  for  various 
offences ;  one  for  murder — and  he  was  fettered  with 
the  irons  which,  the  newspapers  of  the  day  inform 
us,  had  scarcely  been  laid  off  long  enough  by  Lech 
er  to  get  cold." 

The  depravity  and  recklessness  produced  by  the 
blood-thirsty  spirit  which  brings  such  crowds  to 
gether  on  such  occasions,  has  anything  but  a  saluta 
ry  effect  upon  the  morals  of  the  community,  and  es 
pecially  upon  children.  Imitation  is  generally  well 
developed  in  juvenile  heads.  The  newspapers  of  our 
own  country  have  recorded  two  instances  of  chil- 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  289 

dren  losing  their  lives  by  "playing  hanging."  O, 
how  shocking  to  the  finer  feelings  of  our  nature  are 
such  exhibitions  as  these  ! 

In  1844,  the  writer  of  this  witnessed  a  similar  scene 
in  Dexter,  Jefferson  Co.  A  lad  of  fifteen  years,  was 
found  dead  in  a  barn,  suspended  by  a  rope  around 
his  neck,  where  it  was  supposed  he  had  hung  him 
self  experimenting.  It  has  been  truly  said  that 
"  there  is  a  chord  in  every  human  heart  that  vi 
brates  at  the  touch  of  kindness."  How  often  has 
this  been  proved  by  the  noble-hearted  and  benevo 
lent  Miss  Dix,  on  her  errands  o£  mercy  to  the  un 
fortunate  of  our  race,  who  have  been  confined  with 
in  the  walls  of  prisons  for  crime.  On  one  occasion 
she  met  with  a  man  so  lost  in  depravity,  that  the 
keepers  of  the  prison  could  not  control  him  at  all, 
and' were  constantly  in  fear  of  him.  Indeed  he  was 
an  object  of  fear  to  all  who  visited  the  prison.  He 
tore  his  hair  out  with  rage,  and  Miss  Dix  was  ad 
vised  not  to  go  near  him.  She,  however,  seated 
herself  in  hearing  distance  of  him,  and  commenced 
reading  portions  of  Scripture,  in  her  accustomed 
mildness  of  voice.  She  soon  perceived  that  it  had 
an  effect  upon  him,  and  she  continued  reading  till 
her  enchanting  voice  and  kindness  of  manner  com 
pletely  riveted  his  attention  and  lulled  him  to  quiet 
ness. 

When  she  ceased  reading  he  said,  "  Read 
25 


290  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

more,  it  does  me  good."  And  when  she  arose  to 
depart,  he  approached  her  with  outstretched  arms 
and  said,  "Give  me  your  hand  ;  you  treat  me  right." 
She  took  his  hands  while  tears  of  penitence  streamed 
from  his  eyes. 

"Human  justice,"  Alice  says,  " is  not  the  imper 
fect  thing  your  correspondent  represents  her  to  be." 
And  yet  we  know  of  several  instances  of  the  lives 
of  innocent  persons  being  taken,  and  when  it  had 
been  so  proved,  they  were  gone  beyond  the  reach 
of  any  recompense  in  this  world.  There  is  this  one 
objection  to  the  law  inflicting  death  upon  the  mur 
derer  which  is  enough  to  condemn  it,  were  there  no 
other  —  i.  e.,  the  liability  of  punishing  the  innocent. 
Whereas,  if  imprisonment  for  life  were  substituted 
in  its  place,  should  any  future  revelation  be  made 
by  which  the  guilt  of  the  criminal  might  be  palliat 
ed  by  circumstances,  or  his  innocence  proved,  the 
steps  of  the  law  could  easily  be  retraced.  Again, 
the  severity  of  this  law  is  the  means  of  many  who 
are  actually  guilty  of  murder  escaping  unpunished  ; 
for  it  has  been  sometimes  almost  impossible  for  a 
sufficient  number  of  men  to  be  found  to  act  as  jury 
men  in  such  cases,  and  if  a  jury  is  obtained  it  is  very 
rare  that  a  man  is  convicted.  A  verdict  of  "  not 
guilty  "  is  almost  invariably  rendered,  on  some  plea 
of  insanity,  or  any  thing  which  throws  a  shade  of 
doubt  over  their  minds.  Then  who  can  object  to  a 


^     MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  291 

law  being  substituted  which  will  not  only  save 
the  innocent,  but  surely  punish'  the  guilty  ?  This 
would  do  more  to  prevent  crime  than  an  ocean  of 
blood. 


SPIEITUAL  EXPEKIENCES. 


"If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself- " 

JOHN  vii.  17. 

That  God  has  brought  us  to  a  knowledge  of 
Christianity,  is  a  boon  for  which  we  can  never  suf 
ficiently  thank  Him.  It  is  a  knowledge,  which,  if 
employed  aright,  will  yield  us  the  greatest  advan 
tages  with  regard  to  wisdom,  virtue  and  happiness. 
But  through  our  ingratitude  and  negligence  of  the 
precious  gift,  we  shut  up  our  hearts  against  its 
divine,  efficacious  influence,  its  all-gushing  spirit, 
depriving  ourselves  of  that  peace  of  mind  and  tran 
quil  enjoyment,  which  are  the  sure  results  of  a  stead 
fast  reliance  on  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  doctrines  of  that  religion  have  in  them  a  natural 
power  to  direct  the  conduct  of  those  who  embrace 
them.  They  have  a  constant  influence  over  our 


292  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

hearts,  impelling  us  to  act  agreeably  to  tlie  per 
ception  we  have  gained.  Indeed,  they  stand  in  the 
closest  connection  with  our  present  and  future  hap 
piness,  and  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  apply  them 
home,  without  feeling  that  they  have  an  effect  upon 
our  inclinations  and  conduct.  How  important  then 
is  it  that  we  use  all  the  means  in  our  power  to 
arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  the  truth !  "We  may  rest 
assured  that  the  Spirit  of  God  will  assist  the  sin 
cere  Christian  in  his  researches  after  truth.  The 
Scriptures  inform  us  that  God  frequently  operates  in 
a  remarkable  manner  on  the  hearts  of  mankind, 
putting  their  minds  in  such  a  frame,  that  truth  can 
display  itself  to  them  in  its  full  force.  We  cannot 
always,  however,  understand  the  operations  of  our 
own  minds  so  as  to  properly  explain  them.  We 
should,  therefore,  be  extremely  cautious  about  taking 
all  the  pleasing  ejnotions  that  arise  in  us,  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  for  special  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  God  is,  indeed,  "  all  in  all."  To  hie 
influence  all  creatures  are  indebted  for  the  continu 
ance  of  their  existence.  May  we  not,  then,  conclude 
that  God's  providence  extends  by  his  mighty  will,  to 
the  support  of  our  intellectual  faculties  ?  True,  he 
deals  with  us  as  rational  beings,  requiring  us  to  use 
the  capacities  he  has  given  us.  We  may,  by  intem 
perance,  or  by  irregularity  of  conduct  and  habits, 
bring  upon  ourselves  a  disordered  state  of  health, 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  293 

the  consequences  of  which  always  weaken  the  sen 
sibility  to  pleasure,  or  disturb  and  interrupt  our 
moral  and  intellectual  enjoyments.  In  the  place  of 
them,  a  variety  of  painful  and  disagreeable  sensa 
tions  arise  within  us,  obscuring  the  agreeable  images 
of  the  mind,  and  not  unfrequently  entirely  obliter 
ating  them.  Such  circumstances  cannot  fail  to  con 
fine  the  exertion  of  our  abilities,  and  our  activity  in 
goodness,  to  a  very  limited  circle.  We  may  also 
become  dissatisfied  with  the  works  of  our  own  hands 
which  would  have  been  happily  completed  had  we 
been  in  a  right  frame  of  mind.  Our  acts  of  benevo 
lence,  the  relief  and  service  we  may  have  afforded 
to  others,  will  become  utterly  insignificant  to  us. 
This  ought  to  teach  us  the  value  of  health,  in  regard 
to  the  noblest  and  most  exalted  attributes  of  the 
mind ;  and  if  we  who  now  enjoy  that  benefit,  wish 
to  lead  a  contented,  cheerful,  and  happy  life  in  the 
service  of  virtue,  let  us  look  upon  the  preservation 
of  our  health  as  an  imperative  duty,  and  be  assured 
that  we  can  make  no  sacrifice  to  moderation,  which 
will  not  afterwards  be  repaid  a  hundred  fold. 

The  mind  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
body,  that  no  remarkable  alteration  can  happen  to 
the  one,  without  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
other.  When  our  bodies  are  in  health,  when  we 
feel  neither  pain  nor  infirmity,  the  mind  is  alert  in 
all  its  functions,  and  can  operate  free-  and  unmo- 
25* 


294  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

lested.  Reason,  the  most  perfect  attribute  «of  the 
mind,  then  prevails  OTer  all  the  inferior  powers,  and 
we  can  contemplate  the  truth,  not  with  passion,  but 
in  a  calm  and  unclouded  light.  Agreeable  objects 
then  come  in  contact  with  our  senses,  whether  we 
mingle  with  society,  where  we  can  enjoy  the  delights 
of  friendship  and  the  agreeable  conversation  of  well- 
cultivated  minds,  or  retire  to  the  silence  of  the  shady 
forest,  where  every  living  being  is  elate  with  joy, 
and  we  listen  to  the  voice  of  God  in  nature,  with  all 
her  magnificence.  The  heart  is  affected  by  t%e 
sweet  melody  of  harmonious  sounds,  our  thoughts 
flow  rapidly  and  methodically,  and  if  we  reflect  on 
the  sublime  doctrines  of  religion,  the  joy  and  conso 
lation  we  feel,  must  of  necessity  be  unusually  great, 
yea,  at  times,  truly  .ecstatic.  Let  us  reverse  the 
picture.  If  our  physical  system  be  diseased,  the 
blood  creeps  sluggishly  and  heavily  through  the 
veins,  the  nerves  become  relaxed  and  feeble,  the 
mind  will  correspond  with  these  contingencies.  Our 
thoughts  will  always  have  a  sort  of  obscurity  about 
them,  and  it  will  be  in  vain  that  we  endeavor  to 
form  any  lively  and  clear  conceptions  of  the  sublime 
and  important  truths  of  the  Gospel.  The  most  ele 
gant  extracts  and  descriptions  will  then  make  but 
little  impression  upon  us,  and  we  can  hear  or  read 
them  with  coldness  and  indifference.  We  can  easily 
resign  ourselves  to  sullenness  and  melancholy,  hold- 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  295 

ing  mirth  in  abhorrence,  and  looking  with  contempt 
upon  all  those  who  engage  in  it.  May  we  not  then 
be  mistaken  in  representing  these  attentions  which 
so  naturally  arise  and  are  explained  on  philosophical 
principles,  as  supernatural  dispensations  and  spiritual 
experiences  of  a  peculiar  order,  when  the  state  of 
our  bodies,  our  outward  condition  and  temperaments, 
have  so  great  an  influence  on  the  agency  and  opera 
tion  of  the  mind  ?  Therefore,  when  under  such  cir 
cumstances,  we  receive  any  livelier  sentiment,  or 
more  joyous  emotion,  as  celestial  raptures  or  imme 
diate  visitations  from  on  high,  we  deceive  ourselves. 

O      ' 

We  also  vex  and  torment  ourselves  in  vain  when  we 
consider  the  insensibility  and  listlessness,  originating 
in  a  disorder  of  the  body,  as  a  judgment  of  God,  or 
a  token  of  his  wrath  and  displeasure.  If  we  would 
have  a  rational  and  just  experience  of  the  efficacy 
which  the  doctrines  of  religion  possess,  we  cannot 
consistently  base  our  hopes  on  things  beyond  our 
control,  on  outward  circumstances,  on  the  fluctuating 
state  of  our  bodies,  or  on  accidents.  If  we  walk 
willingly  and  faithfully  in  all  the  commandments  of 
God,  here  we  may  safely  rest,  and  avoid  the  follies 
of  fanaticism  and  the  extravagances  of  superstition. 
It  is  a  common  failing  with  numbers  of  Christians, 
that  they  give  themselves  little  or  no  concern  about 
cultivating  and  progressively  perfecting  the  nobler 
part  of  their  being,  their  rational  mind.  They  pre- 


296  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

fer  to  be  employed  in  executing  their  sensitive  feel 
ings,  and  in  obtaining  what  they  often  falsely  term 
spiritual  experiences.  Their  passions  must  have,  at 
least,  as  large  a  share  in  their  worship  as  their  un 
derstanding.  They  think  their  private  acts  of  devo 
tion  connot  be  of  the  genuine  sort  without  exciting 
sensual  and  vehement  emotions  ;  their  sorrow  for 
sin  must  be  accompanied  with  scalding  tears  ;  their 
joy  in  God,  and  aspirations  after  eternal  felicity, 
must  be  rapturous.  They  even  scorn  the  sugges 
tions  of  reason,  and  are  extremely  cautious  of  fol 
lowing  her  precepts  and  her  light. 

We  shall  at  least  be  on  the  "  safe  side  "  if  we 
follow  the  precepts,  and  expand  our  hearts  to  the 
saving  efficacy  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  We  can 
only  testify  the  integrity  of  our  faith  by  an  unre 
mitting  industry  in  all  good  works.  Our  experience 
will  show  that  it  has  the  power  to  render  its  sincere 
followers  virtuous,  holy,  tranquil,  and  happy.  Thus 
we  shall  know,  as  onr  Saviour  declares,  that  his  doc 
trine  is  of  God. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  297 


ESSAY  ON  TEMPER ANCE* AND  TOBACCO. 


Temperance  and  intemperance  have  been  written 
and  spoken  upon,  until  it  would  seem  that  the  whole 
range  of  pertinent  remarks  on  these  subjects  has 
been  exhausted,  and  nought  remains  but  the  oft- 
repeated  tales  of  woe  which  have  fallen  on  our  ears 
from  time  immemorial ;  and  yet,  at  the  first  glance, 
one  would  suppose  that  all  the  efforts  that  have  been 
put  forth  for  the  stay  of  this  deadly  ruin,  have  been 
useless,  or  nearly  so,  by  the  frightful  havoc  that  is 
still  being  made  upon  the  peace  of  community.  In 
temperance  has  well  been  likened  to  an  ocean  that 
is  constantly  being  fed  by  tributaries  ;  like  that,  it 
has  its  little  rills  which  merge  in  the  broad  rivers, 
and  at  last,  through  the  lakes  and  bays  find  their 
way  to  the  boundless  ocean  of  untold  misery,  which 
nothing  but  the  revealing  light  of  eternity  can  ever 
fully  disclose.  It  requires  a  brilliant  genius  to 
sketch  the  images  of  the  human  form  upon  dull  can 
vas,  and  give  them  the  appearance  of  speaking  life  ; 
but  the  more  requisite  genius  of  an  angel  would 
fail  to  portray  upon  paper,  with  a  pen,  the  ravages 
of  this  mortal  curse  upon  the  human  organism. 

The  habits  of  men,  indulging  in  their  depraved 


298  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

and  vitiated  appetites,  have  got  the  better  of  their 
reason,  and  they  have  become  so  blinded  and  besot 
ted,  that  they  have  lost  the  power  of  throwing  off 
their  galling  chains  ;  hence  the  duty  of  those  whom 
sensualism  has  not  bowed  and  crushed  to  the  earth, 
is  imperative  in  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  weak, 
and,  if  possible,  in  scattering  light  and  truth,  where 
now  darkness  and  error  hold  absolute  sway. 

It  is  an  awful  sight  to  see  man,  fashioned  in  the 
image  of  his  Creator,  reduced  by  the  force  of  circum 
stances  frequently  entailed  on  him  by  his  parents ; 
to  a  mere  breathing,  eating,  and  drinking  machine, 
and  expending  his  energies  for  that  which  debases 
him  in  everything  that  goes  to  make  up  the  real 
man  in  the  sight  of  God. 

The  attempt  to  dry  up  this  formidable  ocean,  will 
be  in  vain,  as  long  as  the  streams  by  which  it  is  fed 
are  kept  alive  and  nourished  with  more  care  than 
the  staff  of  life  would  be.  When  men's  judgment 
is  so  impaired  by  temperance  and  sensuality,  as  that 
they  will  endure  the  privation  of  bread,  of  decent 
clothing,  and  of  a  comfortable  home,  or  beg  their 
sustenance,  and  expend  their  hard  earnings  for  the 
poisons  which  are  the  sole  cause  of  all  this  degrada 
tion  aW  misery,  they  are  simply  insane,  and  ought  to 
be  treated  as  such ;  and  of  all  the  diseases  which 
afflict  poor  human  nature,  those  which  affect  the 
mind  are  the  most  grievous  to  be  borne.  Who  has 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  299 

<t 

not  witnessed  the  writhings  of  the  mind  in  cases  of 
delirium  tremens,  caused  by  the  use  of  intoxicating 
drinks,  and  in  a  somewhat  less  degree  by  tobacco  ! 
To  suffer  the  amputation  of  the  limbs,  one  by  one, 
and  then  have  the  body  slowly  cut  in  pieces,  though 
horribly  excruciating,  would  bear  no  comparison  to 
this  burden  of  sorrow,  which  is  the  fearful  penalty 
of  transgression.  Ordinary  pain  can  be  endured  ; 
but  when  reason,  the  noblest  attribute  of  man,  is 
dethroned,  and  self-possession  lost,  imaginary  de 
mons  will  torment,  and  all  the  passions  rise  in  tumul- 
tous  uproar,  leaving  him,  who  was  created  in  the 
likeness  of  his  Maker,  no  longer  himself,  but  an 
object  of  commiseration  over  which  angels  might 
weep. 

The  object  of  this  essay  is  chiefly  an  attempt  to 
portray  the  evils  of  tobacco  ;  one  of  the  dark,  muddy, 
and  filthy  rivers  which  constantly  flows  into  this 

Bacchanalian  sea.  Its  evil  influence  on  society,  and 
its  unconscious  victims,  is  second  only  to  that  of 

old  Alcohol  himself;  and  yet  there  are  hundreds  who 
are  loud  in  their  denunciations  of  intoxicating 
drinks,  and  are  dying  by  inches  under  the  influence 
of  this  poisonous  narcotic  ;  supposing  their  whole 
duty  is  done  in  the  philanthropic  cause  of  temper 
ance.  Not  a  hundred  miles  from  the  town  of  Ma 
drid,  in  St.  Lawrence  County,  nor  a  hundred  years 
ago,  I  remember  of  attending  a  temperance  mass- 
26  / 


300  MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS. 

meeting  in  a  beautiful  church,  which  boasted  its 
Turkey  carpet,  cushioned  seats,  and  all  the  little 
etceteras  that  contribute  to  the  comfort  and  conveni 
ence  of  the  church-going  portion  of  community,  in 
and  about  the  tidy  little  village.  We  were  not  long 
waiting  in  the  aisle,  before  a  seat  was  proffered  by  a 
gentleman  who  seemed  to  be  "  at  home."  Unfor 
tunately,  however,  for  me,  I  was  placed  in  too  close 
proximity  to  one  who  could  not  be  called  a  gentle 
man,  or  "  temperance  man."  He  had  deposited  his 
card  at  his  feet  on  the  beautiful  carpet,  in  the  shape 
of  a  puddle  of  tobacco  spittle  about  the  size  of  his 
hat  crown.  Looking  around  for  a  more  comfortable 
locality,  I  observed  the  deformed  and  besmeared 
lips  of  several  more  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and 
concluded  to  keep  the  seat  near  my  disagreeable 
neighbor,  for  fear  of  getting  a  worse  one,  putting 
my  dress  skirt  aside  that  it  might  not  be  made  a 
mop  for  this  filthy  pool.  While  reflecting  on  the 
right  some  people  take  to  poison  the  air  for  others 
to  breathe,  the  speakers  were  called  to  the  stand, 
and  suggestions  and  resolutions  were  offered  to  ad 
vance  the  glorious  cause,  which  all  went  off  admir 
ably,  and  the  speakers  were  of  the  "  first  order," 
only  it  occurred  to  me  that  some  of  the  temperance 
men  should  have  been  labelled,  so  that  strangers 
would  know  they  were  so,  otherwise  their  practices 
prevented  their  being  recognized  as  such,  for  about 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  301 

two  in  three  of  them  had  to  relieve  themselves  of 
large  quids  of  tobacco  before  delivering  their  tem 
perance  (?)  messages.  O,  consistency,  thou  art 
indeed  a  jewel.  "  Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out 

of  an  unclean  ?  "     Rev.  Mr. ,  a  clergyman  from 

a  neighboring  parish,  was  last  called  upon  the 
speakers'  stand ;  he,  too,  threw  his  quid  into  the 
spittoon,  in  presence  of  the  large  congregation,  with 
a  shamelessness  that  was  appalling  ;  and  in  a  speech 
of  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour  in  length,  he 
gave  old  Alcohol  a  severe  drubbing,  such  as  he  de 
served  ;  prospectively  tried,  condemned,  and  execu 
ted  him,  and  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Hume,  "  When 
he  is  quite  dead  you  may  bury  him,  and  if  I  attend 
his  funeral,  I'll  not  shed  a  tear — not  a  single  tear. 
Or,  if  I  do  weep,  it  will  be  because  he  did  not  die 
sooner  ;  and,  should  I  be  the  sexton,  if  it  were  pos 
sible,  I  would  dig  his  grave  at  the  North  Pole  ;  there 
bury  him  a  thousand  fathoms  deep  ;  wrap  him  in  a 
winding  sheet  of  ice  ;  let  the  mighty  organ  of  the 
four  winds  gather  his  requiem  from  all  nations,  and, 
in  a  blast  of  their  wildest  whirlings  play  it  loud  and 
strong  upon  his  grave,  as  long  as  time  shall  last. 
Finally, — when  buried,  you  may  erect  his  grave 
stone,  and  write  his  epitaph.  I  propose  that  it  read 
as  follows  :  " 

"  Beneath  this  sketch  there  lies  a  wretch, 

Old  Alcohol  most  bad ; 
And  when  he  died,  creation  cried, 

We're  glad !  we're  glad ! !  we're  glad  ! ! ! 
26 


302  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

He  filled  the  earth  with  his  foul  breath 

Of  brandy,  ein,  and  rum; 
And  when  he  died,  the  devil  cried, 

Come,  friend,  coine." 

Can  it  be  possible,  thought  I,  that  these  gentle 
men  are  ignorant  of  the  physical  effects  of  tobacco, 
and  of  its  affinity  for  rum,  on  which  they  have  dealt 
their  wholesale  anathemas  ?  If  they  have  ever 
read  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Woodward,  of  the  State 
Hospital  for  the  insane,  at  Worcester,  Mass ;  Drs. 
Bell  and  Condie,  editors  of  the  Journal  of  Health, 
Dr.  J.  C.  Warren,  of  Boston ;  Dr.  Wm.  A.  Alcott, 
a  man  of  almost  unparalleled  experience  and  obser 
vation,  and  scores  of  others,  against  the  practice  of 
using  tobacco  in  any  form,  as  prejudicial  to  health, 
morality  and  cleanliness,  it  has  fallen  unheeded  on 
their  ears.  Habit  has  got  a  powerful  hold  on  them 
and  in  that  which  will  have  the  same  effect  on  the 
mind  as  upon  the  poor,  degraded  rum-drinker.  It 
has  been  known  in  numerous  instances  to  produce 
delirium  tremens,  dyspepsia,  blindness,  deafness, 
cancer,  scrofula,  and  all  the  long  train  of  diseases 
which  are  the  result  of  impure  blood.  It  will  be 
admitted  by  any  person  in  his  senses,  that  the  evil 
consequences  already  mentioned  are  enough  to  know 
against  it,  and  should  deter  any  reasonable  person 
from  its  use  ;  and  yet  there  is  a  worse  effect  than 
any  of  these,  justly  chargeable  upon  tobacco  :  name 
ly,  insanity.  The  experience  of  some  very  renowned 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  303 

physicians,  bears   ample  testimony  to  the  truth  of 
this  statement,  and   among   them  was  the  late  Dr. 
Brigham,  physician  of  the  New  York  State  Lunatic 
Asylum,  at  Utica  ;  and  later  still  is  the  testimony  of 
one  whose    name  has  passed  from  my  memory,  one 
of  great   experience  and  influence,  who  was  phy 
sician   to    an   insane     hospital   in   London,  for   the 
period   of  twenty-seven    years.      He    has  written, 
quite  recently,  a  work,  in  which  he  charges  upon 
tobacco    as    being   the   cause  (and    particularly  of 
smoking)  of  a  large  portion  of  the  insanity  of  those 
who  were  inmates  of  that  institution   for  the  long 
term  of  his  superintendence.     The  opinions  of  those 
who  have  interested  themselves,   and   have  had  an 
experience  of  life-long  observation  on  these  subjects 
establishes  the  fact  of  its  destructive  qualities,  on 
life,   health,    and  morality  beyond  a  peradventure ; 
and  those  who  reject  such  evidence  would  fail  to  be 
convinced,  "  though  one  arose  from  the  dead,"  and 
confirmed  it.     Many  who  are  already  convinced  that 
the   "  half  of  the  truth  has  not  been  told  "  against 
this  monster  evil,  by  a  fearful  experience,  have  been 
lulled  to  stupidity  by  its  seductive  influence,  and  the 
chains  of  habit  have  been  forged  and  riveted  in  the 
face  and  eyes  of  reason,  better  judgment,  and  coun 
sel  of  those  who  know  its   effects,  until  they  have 
lost  the  power,  like   Sinbad  the  sailor,'  of  shaking 
off  this    "  old  man  of  sin,"  from  their  backs.  What 


304  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

degradation  they  have  brought  upon  themselves,  and 
that,  too,  voluntarily  !  Alas,  for  the  frailty  of  poor 
human  nature  !  Ye  sober  and  temperate,  vigor 
ous  and  healthy,  thank  God  for  your  deliverance 
from  the  clutches  of  this  tyrant,  Habit ;  and  if  you 
have  a  tear  of  pity,  let  it  fall  for  these  poor  slaves. 
"  Were  it  possible,"  says  Dr.  Rush,  for  a  being 
who  had  resided  on  our  globe,  to  visit  the  inhabitants 
of  a  planet  where  reason  governed,  and  to  tell  them 
that  a  vile  weed  was  in  use  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  globe  he  had  left,  which  afforded  no  nourish 
ment  ;  that  this  weed  was  cultivated  with  immense 
c  are  ;  that  it  was  an  important  article  of  commerce  ; 
*hat  the  want  of  it  produced  much  real  misery ;  that 
its  taste  was  extremely  nauseous  ;  that  it  was  un 
friendly  to  health  and  morals,  and  that  the  use  of  it 
was  attended  with  a  considerable  loss  of  time  and 
property,  the  account  would  be  thought  incredible." 
"  In  no  one  view,"  continues  Dr.  R.,  "  is  it  possible 
to  contemplate  the  creature,  man,  in  a  more  absurd 
and  ridiculous  light,  than  in  his  attachment  to 

O         7 

tobacco." 

If  Dr.  Rush's  imaginary  message  to  another  planet 
would  be  thought  incredible,  in  what  light  would 
the  humane  and  benevolent  regard  our  government, 
should  it  be  represented  as  having  imposed  these 
calamities  on  three-fourths  of  its  young  men,  as  a 
penalty  for  some  crime.  After  having  expended 
their  labor,  means,  and  time,  in  cultivating  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  <505 

poisonous  plant,  instead  of  building  prisons  and 
houses  of  correction,  supply  every  county  in  this 
commonwealth  with  it,  for  the  purpose  of  torture  to 
the  criminal. 

Imagine  a  court  of  justice  convicting  a  young  man 
of  the  crime  of  murder,  (though  such  crimes  are 
very  seldom  committed,  except  through  the  agency 
of  these  exhilerating  and  intoxicating  potions),  and 
the  judge  pronouncing  sentence  upon  him,  as  fol 
lows.  (The  prisoner  has  witnessed  its  effects  upon 
others,  and  he  arises,  pale  and  trembling,  while  the 
dreadful  sentence  falls  on  his  ear.) 

"  Young  man,  you  have  been  convicted,  in  the 
presence  of  this  Court,  of  one  of  the  most  atrocious 
crimes  on  record ;  notwithstanding  the  able  defence 
of  your  counsel,  and  the  sympathy  of  the  entire  com 
munity  in  your  behalf,  and  that  of  your  innocent 
friends  ;  and  it  now  becomes  my  painful  duty  to 
pass  sentence  upon  you,  according  to  law.  The 
laws  of  this  State,  which  are  inexorable,  have  at 
tached  the  penalty  of  death  to  the  crime  of  which 
you  are  found  guilty  by  this  enlightened  jury ;  and 
if  it  Avere  possible,  with  my  convictions  of  duty  and 
justice,  in  view  of  the  very  aggravated  circumstances 
in  your  case,  I  would  cause  your  execution  in  a 
decent  and  humane  manner  ;  and  not  by  the  tortur 
ous  process  which  I  am  compelled  to  adopt  in  your 
case. 

26* 


306  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

"From  this  time,  as  long  as  you  are  permitted  to 
live  on  the  earth,  you  will  be  required  to  pay  three 
cents  a  day,  amounting  to  about  eleven  dollars  a 
year  of  your  hard  earnings,  for  the  black,  filthy, 
and  narcotic,  vegetable  tobacco,  done  up  in  masses  of 
solid  plug  one  inch  broad.  This  sum,  expended 
daily,  if  you  should  be  permitted  to  live  at  a  "poor 
dying  rate/'  to  the  common  age  of  man,  would  pur 
chase  several  miles  in  length.  Commencing  at  one 
end  of  this  formidable  twist,  with  your  teeth,  eat  off 
the  number  of  inches  allotted  for  one  day,  which 
you  can  ascertain  by  an  application  of  mathematical 
rules.  Commence  at  first  with  a  very  small  quan 
tity,  which  will  cause  a  wretched  sickness,  akin  to 
death.  The  quantity  allotted  for  one  day,  if  all  taken 
within  an  hour,  at  first  trial  would  kill  you  outright. 
Nature  never  willingly  yields  to  such  an  outrage  on 
her  rights ;  hence  her  pleadings  and  struggles  in 
the  right  path ;  and  when  she  seems  to  have  been 
conquered,  it  is  only  a  slackening  of  her  rein  for  a 
more  fearful  retribution  in  the  future.  Your  teeth, 
which  she  has  formed  regular,  smooth  as  glass,  and 
with  the  whiteness  of  ivory,  will  turn  black,  and  de 
cay,  falling  one  by  one  from  your  mouth.  Hear  Dr. 
Alcott's  testimony  on  this  point :  '  The  opinion  is 
greatly  prevalent,  that,  whatever  may  be  the  other 
effects  of  tobacco,  it  certainly  preserves  the  teeth, 
especially  when  chewed.  Common,  however,  and 


MISCELLANEOUS   ESSAYS.  807 

plausible  as  the  opinion  is,  it  is  not  difficult  to  show 
that  it  is  very  far  from  having  its  foundation  in  fact. 
The  soundness  of  the  teeth  will  always  bear  an  exact 
proportion  to  the  soundness  and  firmness  of  the 
gums,  and  of  the  lining  membrane  of  the  mouth,  and 
of  the  whole  alimentary  canal.  But,  that  tobacco 
makes  the  gums  loose  and  spongy,  and  injures  the 
lining  membrane  of  the  alimentary  canal,  especially 
that  part  of  it  called  the  stomach,  is  as  well  attested 
as  any  fact  in  physiology.  The  application  of 
tobacco,  therefore,  to  the  inside  of  the  mouth,  and  to 
the  gums,  instead  of  preserving  the  teeth,  cannot 
otherwise  than  hasten  their  decay.' 

"  Your  breath  will  become  foeted  and  foul,  and 
yourself  an  object  of  loathing  and  disgust  in  good 
society ;  for  whenever  you  are  in  the  parlor,  in  the 
kitchen,  in  the  church,  and  everywhere  else,  the 
extra  quantity  of  saliva  drawn  to  the  mouth  by  this 
powerful  stimulant,  will  cause  a  constant  spitting ; 
and  settling  in  a  dark  line  around  your  cherry  lips, 
and  involuntarily,  upon  your  part,  run  down  upon 
your  chin.  It  will  surely  cause  dyspepsia,  if  the 
opinions  of  the  most  noted  physicians  in  this  country 
and  Europe  are  worth  any  thing.  If  Eobert  Burns 
had  called  dyspepsia  '  the  hell  of  all  diseases,'  in 
stead  of  tooth-ache,  he  would  have  got  it  right. 

Besides  the  diseases  mentioned,  to  which  you  will 
be  made  liable,  there  is  scarcely  one  in  the  whole 


808  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

catalogue  of  ills  human  flesh  is  heir  to,  but  tobacco 
will  induce  ;  and  hereditary  and  chronic  complaints 
are  greatly  aggravated  by  it.  The  price  of  all  these 
must  be  paid  with  your  money,  and  at  the  rates 
heretofore  named.  If  you  should  happen  to  live 
under  this  vile  treatment  forty  or  fifty  years,  as 
some  have  been  known  to,  you  will  have  spent, 
along  with  your  health  and  influence,  and  good  ex 
ample,  time  and  a  sufficient  sum  in  dollars  and  cents, 
reckoned  at  compound  interest,  and  its  amount,  to 
purchase  the  best  homestead  in  this  State.  From 
this  sentence  there  is  no  reprieve  ;  for  the  most  sin 
gular  effect  this  poison  has  upon  the  human  system 
remains  yet  to  be  told.  After  having  experienced 
its  first  sickening  effects,  an  appetite  is  formed  for 
it  with  the  poor  victim,  which  is  stronger  than  that 
for  intoxicating  drinks ;  and  creates  a  thirst  for 
strong  drinks.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the 
opinions  of  Dr.  Mussey,  Dr.  Rush,  and  Dr.  Brown, 
of  AVest  Randolph,  Vt.  The  last  named  says :  '  The 
use  of  tobacco  produces  a  dryness  or  huskiness  of 
the  mouth,  thus  creating  a  thirst  which  in  many 
cases  is  not  satiated  with  anything  short  of  alcoholic 
drinks.'  The  report  of  the  New  York  Anti-Tobacco 
Society  for  the  year  1835,  written,  it  is  believed,  by 
Dr.  Stephenson,  is  to  the  same  effect: — 'Chewing 
and  smoking  tobacco,'  the  Report  say,  '  exhausts 
the  salivary  glands  of  their  secretions  ;  thus  pro- 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

ducing  dryness  and  thirst.  Hence  it  is,  that  after 
the  use  of  the  cigar,  and  the  cud,  brandy,  whiskey, 
or  some  other  spirit  is  called  for.'" 

Would  not  a  young  man,  under  such  a  cruel  sen 
tence,  exclaim,  like  Cain  of  old,  "  My  punishment 
is  greater  than  I  can  bear  ?"  But  few  could  be 
found  who  would  voluntarily  take  this  burden 
of  wasted  means  and  poor  health  upon  themselves, 
did  they  know  the  half  of  its  evils  from  the  com 
mencement?  Not  half  enough  is  written  on  this 
subject ;  and  many  who  do  know  its  effects  from  sad 
experience,  will  not  speak  out  for  fear  of  giving 
offence.  The  warning  voice  of  such  an  one,  would 

O  ' 

be  more  heeded  by  the  young,  than  the  same 
counsel  from  any  other  source.  A  very  little  obser 
vation  on  the  part  of  lookers-on,  will  establish  the 
truth  of  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  written  and 
spoken  against  the  use  of  tobacco.  Several  cases  of 
bodily  infirmity  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  which, 
without  doubt,  were  the  penalty  of  an  abused  phys 
ical  law.  Who  do^s  not  know  by  experience  the 
pain  that  smoke  will  give  to  the  eyes  and  lungs  ? 
and  no  person  in  his  senses,  and  not  blinded  by 
appetite,  can  fail  of  discovering  an  outrage  on  nature, 
in  any  body  being  obliged  to  see  and  breathe  through 
the  vitiated  atmosphere  of  a  room  filled  with  tobacco 
smoke.  An  inveterate  smoker  who  stays  indoors 
has,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  weak  and  inflamed 


310  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

eyes.  Two  of  the  most  constant  smokers  I  ever 
knew,  one  in  Genesee  County,  and  the  other  in  St. 
Lawrence,  were  almost  wholly  blind.  Another — a 
woman,  who  did  not  smoke  but  "  once  a  day,"  and 
that  was  from  morning  till  night,  was  so  deaf  that 
no  ordinary  sound  reached  her  ears. 

Another  case  that  came  under  my  observation 
was  that  of  a  clergyman,  who  was  an  inveterate 
smoker  of  cigars,  and  in  the  habit  of  sitting  up  late 
at  night  to  smoke.  The  penalty  of  his  transgression 
was  one  which  I  have  never  read  or  heard  of  beino- 

O 

charged  to  tobacco ;  but  in  his  case  it  was  evident. 
He  had  fits  occasionally,  and  was  most  kindly  ad 
monished,  by  true  friends,  of  his  fault ;  but  all  in 
vain.  In  addition  to  this,  he  afterwards  nearly  lost 
his  eyesight.  Surely  "  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is 
hard."  Still  another  lamentable  case  has  recently 
come  to  my  knowledge  ;  and,  as  the  subject  is  inex- 
haustable,  I  wiU  only  mention  this  one :  In  a 
neighboring  county,  I  was  visiting,  a  few  weeks 
sinc,e,  a  family  of  my  acquaintance.  They  were  all, 
probably,  children  included,  smokers.  A  large  pa 
per  of  "  fine  cut  "  is  constantly  on  the  table  ;  and  I 
noticed  a  young  lad,  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age, 
help  himself  pretty  freely,  and  put  it  in  his  mouth  ; 
and  an  elder  brother  both  chewed  and  smoked. 
The  young  people  attended  a  party  on  the  evening 
of  our  last  visit  there,  and  came  home  some  time  in 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  311 

the  night.  The  next  morning,  as  the  family  were 
seated  around  the  stove,  with  their  company,  an 
unearthly  noise  was  heard  above  in  the  boys'  room, 
of  dancing  and  shouting.  The  father  immediately 
left  his  company  and  went  up.  The  youngest  lad 
was  dancing  a  hornpipe,  and  screaming  in  a  fit  of 
delirium.  He  rushed  down  the  stairs,  and  with 
rapid  strides,  entered  the  room  with  company,  in 
dishabille,  with  countenance  pale  and  haggard,  and 
wild  with  fright ;  but  not  much  more  so  than  were 
the  family.  It  took  them  all  to  quiet  him  and  get 
him  on  the  bed.  He  clasped  the  arm  of  his  father 
with  an  unnatural  strength,  and  with  a  terrible  oath 
ordered  him  to  stand  at  a  distance,  or  he  would  get 
hurt.  The  old  gentleman's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  as 
he  resigned  him  to  the  gentle  entreaties  of  his  moth 
er,  who  soon  tamed  the  uncaged  lion. 

After  quiet  and  peace  were  restored,  I  approached 
the  subject  of  the  physiological  effects  of  tobacco, 
as  I  had  read  various  authors  on  this  subject,  and 
mildly  hinted  that  a  boy  getting  his  growth,  and  yet 
in  his  teens,  might  be  injured  by  a  too  free  use  of 
the  weed.  The  subject  had  probably  never  been 
introduced  to  them  before,  and  long  practice  had 
blinded  them  to  its  ruinous  eifects  on  their  otherwise 
bright  and  intelligent  boy,  and  the  bare  mention  of 
it  took  them  wholly  by  surprise.  "  O,  no,"  said  the 
indulgent  father,  "  that  cannot  be  the  cause,  for  W. 


312  MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS. 

has  used  tobacco  ever  since  he  was  three  years  old. 
"  Ah,"  said  I,  "  and  has  he  never  been  before  in  the 
condition  we  have  seen  him  this  morning  ?  "  "  Well," 

O 

said  the  old  gentleman,  thoughtfully,  for  a  new  idea 
had  evidently  struck  him,  "  he  has  accasioiially  had 
some  strange  freaks  before,  but  nothing  like  as  bad 
as  this,  and  they  have  grown  worse  every  time." 
Reader,  the  story  is  told :  Here  is  a  case,  without  a 
shadow  of  doubt,  of  delirium  tremens,  induced  by 
the  use  of  tobacco  thirteen  years,  in  a  boy  sixteen 
years  old  !  "  Tell  it  not  in  Gath  !  "  What  a  re 
sponsibility  rests  upon  parents  in  this  matter !  Do 
they  realize  it  ?  No ;  or  they  would  plead  with 
their  children,  with  an  eloquence  that  would  touch 
their  hearts,  and  cease  their  awful  examples  before 
them.  Temperate,  sober  people,  ought  to  have  a 
thousand  tongues  apiece,  and  keep  them  all  going 
against  the  influence  of  these  monster  evils  on  the 
rising  generation,  and  the  influence  of  those  who  set 
themselves  up  as  teachers  of  morality,  and  phy 
sicians  of  bodily  maladies.  For  their  base  ingrati 
tude  to  those  in  humble  life,  who  are  capable  of 
teaching  them  the  alphabet  of  morality,  and  the 
religion  of  Him  in  whose  worthy  name  they  profess 
to  walk,  they  ought  to  be  forgiven,  and  looked  upon 
with  compassion,  the  same  as  any  other  diseased 
and  enslaved  sin-stricken  mortals.  All  that  has 
been  said  of  this  class  of  teachers  is  through  the 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  313 

spirit  of  kindness,  ajid  with  a  deep  and  abiding  sense 
of  duty,  as  well  as  compassion,  to  the  degraded,  for 
they  are  already,  in  the  language  of  Sidney  Smith, 
"  a  spectacld*to  gods  and  men ; "  and  we  ought  to 
be  more  tender  of  the  good  and  right  that  remains 
to  them,  than  if  they  were  blessed  with  more  sense. 
In  view  of  the  wretchedness  this  miserable  weed  has 
caused,  though  it  probably  has  its  use  for  medicinal 
purposes,  I  have  often  wished  that  I  could  obtain 
the  last  seed  of  it.  I,  too,  would  be  willing  to  make 
a  journey  to  the  North  Pole  for  the  blessed  privi 
lege  of  burying  it  by  the  side  of  old  Alcohol. 

Dr.  Hume's  epitaph,  with  variations,  would  be  a 
good  one  for  tobacco :  — 

Here  lies  the  seed  of  a  vile  weed, 

Old  rummy's  twin  brother; 
When  he  died  the  loafers  cried 

Ah,  me!  where's  another? 

He  filled  the  earth  with  his  foul  breath 

Of  juice,  and  smoke,  and  snuff, 
And  when  he  died,  the  devil  cried, 

Come,  I've  frienda  enough! 

27 


314 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 


FRIENDSHIP. 


The  human  heart  does  not  or  can  not  experience 
a  more  pleasurable  sensation,  than  that  which  can 
be  found  in  the  society  of  those,  who,  by  their  con 
stancy  and  fidelity,  deserve  the  name  of  friends. 
And  should  we  be  deprived  of  this  most  precious 
gift  of  Heaven,  the  cement  of  society,  and  the  soul 
of  social  intercourse,  this  world  would  have  no  at 
traction,  and  life  would  indeed  become  a  burden. 
True,  they  who  are  worthy  the  dignified  appellation 
of  friend,  are  "  like  angels'  visits,  few  and  far  be 
tween,"  but  the  tie  that  binds  our  hearts  to  these 
few  is  tenfold  stronger  than  it  could  be,  were  they 
more  numerous.  *They  cling  to  us  in  adversity, 
sickness,  and  sorrow,  and  extend  the  hand  of  friend 
ship  with  the  same  warmth,  as  when  we  are  in 
health  and  surrounded  with  prosperity  and  happi 
ness.  And  when  we  stray  from  the  path  of  virtue 
to  wander  in  the  wilderness  of  vice  and  folly,  bring 
ing  upon  ourselves  wretchedness  and  misery,  with 
gentle  hand  they  kindly  lead  us  back  to  peace,  to 
God,  and  heaven.  With  such  friends  in  our  posses 
sion,  we  can  reflect  with  much  satisfaction  on  the 
many  hours  of  enjoyment  we  have  passed  in  their 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  315 

much  loved  society,  and  also  look  forward  with  hope 
to  the  future.  To  them,  we  owe  more  than  ever 
can  be  repaid,  except  by  a  return  of  the  same  offices 
of  kindness,  and  affection.  We  toil  day  and  night 
for  wealth,  which  fickle  fortune  may  snatch  from  us 
in  an  hour,  but  neglect  a  proper  cultivation  of  our 
social  affections,  implanted  in  the  heart,  by  Him  who 
formed  it.  All  the  riches  this  world  contains  would 
fail  to  secure  us  one  moment  of  true  enjoyment, 
without  this  heaven-born  principle  to  cheer  our 
pathway  to  the  tomb,  and  yet  we  live,  and  act  as 
though  we  thought  that  to  fill  our  coffers  with  gold  » 
and  to  revel  in  luxury  and  extravagance  were  our 
only  end  and  aim.  And  we  sacrifice  ease,  enjoy 
ment,  friends,  and  all,  on  the  altar  of  avarice,  that 
arch  enemy  of  the  human  race,  who  is  never  satis 
fied,  though  all  the  wealth  of  India,  and  the  glitter 
ing  diamonds  of  Golconda,  lay  scattered  in  rich  pro 
fusion  at  his  feet,  while  the  social  feelings  of  friend 
ship  which  alone  can  secure  to  us  happiness,  are 
passed  by,  as  unworthy  of  our  regard.  There  is  no 
faculty  of  the  mind  but  what  might  be  made  a 
source  of  profitable  pleasure  to  the  possessor,  were 
it  rightly  cultivated,  and  this  is  especially  true  of 
friendship.  Then  let  us  not  by  our  neglect,  deprive 
ourselves  of  that  real  felicity  which  can  be  derived 
from  this  richest  of  gifts,  but  continually  add  fuel  to 
the  flame  of  sacred  friendship,  by  more  frequently 


316  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

entertaining  our  friends  around  the  social  fireside, 
and  freely  interchanging  our  thoughts  and  feelings 
with  them.  This  would  be  but  a  foretaste  of  that 
great  social  circle  around  which  will  be  gathered 
every  "  family^nation,  and  kindred  of  the  earth,"  and 
where  love  will  reign  triumphant  in  every  breast, 
and  all  feelings  of  hatred  and  revenge  be  forever 
eradicated.  There  mankind  will  all  worship  around 
the  same  common  altar,  where  there  will  be  but 
"  one  fold  and  one  shepherd,"  and  every  created  in 
telligence  will  perpetually  enjoy  the  presence  of 
Him,  who,  when  on  earth,  was  even  the  sinner's 
friend. 


INGKATITUDE. 


There  is  no  sin  more  degrading  to  the  human  mind, 
nor  yet  one  more  generally  indulged  in,  than  that  of 
ingratitude,  We  are  not  only  ungrateful  to  God, 
for  the  numerous  blessings  we  daily  receive  from  His 
all-bountiful  hand,  but  also  to  those  with  whom  we 
mingle  in  the  common  walks  of  life ;  and  instead  of 
feeling  thankful  and  contented  with  what  we  have, 
look  with  an  envious,  or  jealous  eye,  on  those  we 
suppose  to  be  more  highly  favored  than  ourselves  — 


MISCELLANEOUS   ESSAYS.  317 

thus  making  our  existence  miserable  without  a  cause. 
But  should  we  reverse  the  picture,  and  contrast  our 
own  lot  with  that  of  thousands  around  us  who  are  in 
a  much  worse  condition,  how  different  would  be  our 
feelings  !  Our  complaints  against  Providence  would 
give  way  to  the  more  lofty  emotions  of  love  and 
gratitude  to  Him  who  has  crowned  our  lives  with 
every  blessing,  and  placed  within  our  reach  all  the 
means  of  happiness  of  which  we  stand  in  need,  or 
are  capable  of  enjoying,  and  infinitely  more  than  we 
avail  ourselves  of;  for  we  are  the  direct  cause  of 
nearly  all  the  misery  we  endure,  both  mental  and 
physical,  and  the  remedy  or  rather  the  preventive 
of  these  evils,  is  almost  without  an  exception,  within 
our  reach,  l^fany  of  us  enjoy  months  and  years  of 
uninterrupted  health  and  prosperity,  without  once 
raising  a  prayer  of  gratitude  to  the  Author  of  all 
good,  for  the  preservation  of  our  lives ;  and,  if  per 
chance,  we  are  prostrated  on  the  bed  of  sickness  and 
pain  for  one  day,  we  are  apt  to  think  that  our  lot  is 
indeed  a  hard  one,  and  our  complainings  are  loud 
against  the  dealings  of  Providence. 

We  do  not  consider  that  our  unhappy  condition  is 
caused  by  our  own  neglect,  or  abuse  of  the  laws  of 
our  nature.  True  we  are  most  of  us  ignorant  of 
those  laws ;  but  it  is  a  criminal  ignorance  ;  for  if 
one-half  the  time  were  spent  in  informing  our  barren 
minds,  which  is  thrown  away  in  some  worse  than 
27* 


318  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

useless  employment,  or  in  perfect  idleness,  these 
things  would  not  be  so ;  but  on  the  contrary,  our 
minds  would  be  stored  with  that  useful  knowledge, 
a  practice  of  which  would  direct  all  of  our  actions  in 
a  far  different  and  more  profitable  channel.  Hap 
piness,  the  "great  end  and  aim"  of  our  existence,  is 
attainable  by  'all ;  and  should  we  strive  to  forget  the 
dark  side  of  our  lives,  and  dwell  more  on  the  bright 
spots  of  our  existence  ;  grasping  all  the  happiness 
that  lies  within  our  reach,  we  should  soon  lose  sight 
of  nearly  all  the  trials  and  perplexities  that  render 
us  wretched.  The  efforts  would  not  only  have  a 
salutary  effect  upon  our  own  conduct,  but  exert  an 
influence  for  good  upon  our  friends,  and  those  with 
whom  we  associate  ;  but  while  this  fault  remains 
with  us,  it  will  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  bring  about  a 
reformation  in  others.  Then  let  us  see  to  it,  that 
the  good  work  is  forthwith  commenced  in  our  own 
hearts,  and  let  cheerful  contentment,  the  only  sure 
way  to  happiness,  ever  sit  smiling  upon  our  coun 
tenances.  May  we  be  grateful  to  God  for  all  the 
blessings  he  is  constantly  surrounding  us  with, 
learning  wisdom  from  the  follies  of  the  past,  and  our 
reward  is  sure. 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  319 


SOLITUDE. 


Mankind  are  so  constituted  that  one  of  the  chief 
enjoyments  of  life,  is  to  be  found  in  the  society  of 
friends,  and  to  be  deprived  for  any  considerable 
time,  of  the  privilege  of  interchanging  our  thoughts 
and  feelings  with  loved  ones,  would  render  us  truly 
wretched.  Yet,  retirement  from  the  world,  and 
communion  with  ourselves  alone,  is  equally  essential 
to  our  happiness,  and  cannot  fail  to  have  a  salutary 
effect  upon  our  minds,  for,  to  "  know  one's  self"  is 
the  most  important  of  all  knowledge,  and  can  alone 
be  acquired  in  Solitude.  That  person  who  has  a 
mind  incapable  of  enjoyment  save  in  the  multitude, 
or  who  is  unhappy  except  when  in  a  constant  state 
of  excitement  by  mingling  with  the  world,  in  a  vain 
chase  for  some  amusement,  is  surely  in  a  most  un 
enviable  situation.  The  pursuit  of  such  happiness 
proves,  too  often,  but  a  deceitful  dream,  and  its  vic 
tims  are  only  slaves  to  sensual  pleasure,  and 
strangers  to  that  real  felicity  which  can  be  found  in 
occasional  retirement.  It  would  even  be  better  that 
our  whole  lives  be  spent  in  seclusion,  than  have  for 
our  only  associates  the  low  and  vulgar ;  for  there 
is  no  mind  so  noble  and  exalted,  but  will,  sooner  or 


320  MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS. 

later,  unconsciously  partake  of  the  habits  and  man 
ners  of  those  with  whom  they  constantly  keep  com 
pany.  On  the  contrary,  in  Solitude  we  can  com 
mune  with  the  good  and  great  of  all  ages  through 
the  medium  of  books ;  which,  though  silent,  are 
ever  useful  companions.  All  great  and  good  men, 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  as  benefactors  of 
their  race,  or  those  who  have  made  the  world  happy 
with  their  useful  inventions,  have  spent  much  of 
their  lives  in  Solitude.  It  is  to  this  that  we  owe 
the  enjoyment  derived  from  the  great  invention  of 
the  immortal  Fulton,  in  applying  steam  to  the  pro 
pelling  of  boats  on  our  beautiful  lakes  and  rivers, 
for,  under  what  other  circumstances  could  his  giant 
intellect  have  performed  such  wonders  ?  Thus,  by 
the  use  of  his  thoughts,  free  and  undisturbed,  he 
has  brought  to  light,  and  to  the  use  of  mankind,  a 
power  which  has  been,  and  will  be  for  ages  to 
come,  one  of  the  greatest  of  blessings  to  the  human 
race. 

It  is  in  the  hour  of  Solitude,  that  our  reflections 
on  the  momentous  subject  of  Religion,  are  most 
profitable  and  lasting,  and  that  the  fact  of  the  ex 
istence  of  God  is  more  permanently  fixed  in  our 
minds ;  for  it  is  only  in  this  solemn,  silent  hour, 
that  we  learn  to  observe  the  revelations  of  the  Deity 
in  the  great  book  of  Nature,  where  every  thing  we 
behold  is  sure  proof  that  he  is  not  far  from  us.  To 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  321 

behold  Him,  we  have  no  need  to  soar  to  the  heights 
of  heaven,  nor  repair  to  any  particular  locality,  for 
"  God  is  every  where  " —  in  the  light  of  day,  and 
the  obscurity  of  night,  among  the  choirs  of  his  in 
telligences  above,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  humble 
worshippers  on  earth,  directing  their  every  thought. 
So  we  cannot  retire  from  the  presence  of  the  Almigh 
ty,  if  we  would ;  neither  return  from  Solitude  to  the 
social  world,  without  carrying  with  us  a  serenity  of 
mind,  a  lively  sense  of  the  presence  and  proximity 
of  the  Deity,  and  a  firmer  affection  for  the  great 
truths  of  Christianity,  all  of  which  will  apply  with 
profit  to  the  prompt  and  cheerful  performance  of 
our  worldly  duties,  and  also  prepare  our  minds  for 
a  more  exalted  enjoyment,  when  in  the  society  of 
friends. 

To  a  true  lover  of  Nature,  one  hour  alone,  in  the 
silence  of  the  shady  forest,  or  beside  the  flowing 
rivulet,  with  flowered  banks,  is  productive  of  more 
pure  enjoyment  than  ever  will  be  realized  in  the 
vain  and  idle  conversations  of  those  whose  greatest 
happiness  consists  in  the  senseless  chit-chat  of  the 
gay  and  fashionable  world.  In  these,  nature's  own 
retreats,  where  all  is  peace  and  harmony,  and 
the  notes  of  the  feathered  choir  speak  only  love, 
who  could  for  a  moment  indulge  in  feelings  of  envy, 
jealousy,  or  revenge,  towards  a  brother 


322 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 


If  such  have  ever  been  our  reflections,  here  they 
are  all  forgotten ;  and  the  mind  partakes  of  that 
tranquility  which  the  quietness  of  the  scene  natu 
rally  inspires,  thus  raising  us  above  the  petty  ani 
mosities  incident  to  human  life.  Had  Solitude  no 
other  advantage,  this  should  be  a  sufficient  induce 
ment  for  us  to  withdraw  occasionally  from  the  tu 
mults  of  the  busy  world,  and  examine  our  conduct, 
to  see  if  all  is  right  within  our  own  bosoms.  Then 
might 

"  Some  power  the  giftie  gie  us, 
To  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us." 


CHAEITY  TO  THE  POOR. 


"  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast,  call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the 
lame,  the  blind."    Luke  xiv.  13. 

If  any  one  virtue  shone  more  conspicuous  than 
others,  in  the  pure  and  spotless  character  of  Christ, 
it  was  his  charity  to  the  poor.  He  was  ever  with 
them,  ministering  to  their  necessities,  and  encourag 
ing  them  with  his  sympathy.  Regardless  of  his 
own  ease  or  comfort,  he  lived  for  the  good  of  others, 
and  was  only  happy  when  those  with  whom  he  lived 
were  so.  Selfishness  was  no  part  of  his  character  : 
and  his  life  was  spent  in  acts  of  benevolence  and 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  323 

love.  Much  of  the  folly  and  extravagance  of  this 
world  could  be  avoided,  were  we  all  to  "  go  and  do 
likewise."  But  how  different  the  conduct  of  his 
professed  followers  at  the  present  day  !  When  they 
make  a  feast  none  are  invited  except  rich  neighbors, 
who  bid  them  again,  that  a  recompense  may  be 
made !  While  perhaps,  the  more  worthy,  but  un 
fortunate  poor  man,  is  passed  by  unnoticed,  and 
uncared  for,  because  of  his  poverty.  Wealth  is  only 
valuable  to  those  who  make  a  proper  use  of  it ;  and 
surely  that  must  be  worse  than  wasted,  which  is 
spent  in  making  feasts  for  the  rich,  merely  to  cherish 
a  love  for  pride  and  vanity,  —  for  it  has  no  better 
effect.  The  time  and  money  thus  criminally  ex 
pended,  would  bring  more  happiness  to  the  hearts 
of  the  widow  and  the  orphan  than  ever  has  been,  or 
ever  will  be,  realized  in  the  participation  of  such 
vain  and  useless  displays  ;  and  the  consciousness  of 
having  been  instrumental  in  relieving  the  unfortu 
nate,  would  be  a  sufficient  reward.  Riches  are  only 
lent  us  for  a  short  time,  and  they  will  surely  fail  to 
make  him  happy,  who  lives  for  himself  alone.  Death 
enters  alike  the  palace  and  the  hovel ;  and  the  rich 
and  the  poor  lie  down  in  the  grave  together,  where 
there  is  no  distinction,  nor  ever  can  be.  Then  all 
the  treasures  we  have  laid  up  for  ourselves  on  earth 
will  be  of  no  avail.  Should  we  succeed  in  amassing 
wealth  for  ourselves,  by  a  life  of  toil  and  vexation, 


324  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

or  by  any  other  means,  we  are  not  sure  of  the  pos 
session  of  it  an  hour ;  for  such  is  the  uncertainty  of 
all  earthly  things,  that  he  who  is  rich  to-day,  may 
be  in  the  very  lowest  depths  of  poverty  to-morrow. 
In  short,  there  is  nothing,  of  an  earthly  nature,  on 
which  we  can  place  our  affections  with  any  degree 
of  certainty.  If  death  spare  our  friends,  they  may 
prove  as  fickle  and  inconstant  as  the  wind,  and  for 
sake  us  in  the  time  of  our  greatest  need.  There  is 
no  being  on  whom  we  can  place  our  affections,  and 
on  whom  we  can  rely  with  perfect  confidence,  but 
God,  "who  is  the  same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for 
ever."  He  is  alike  the  friend  of  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  and  we  ought  also  to  "  love  one  another,"  and 
be  especially  mindful  of  those  who  are  suffering  for 
food  or  raiment.  Many  of  us  indulge  in  the  luxu 
ries  of  life,  at  the  expense  of  health  and  happiness, 
while  our  less  fortunate  neighbors  are  in  a  suffering 
condition,  for  the  want  of  actual  necessaries  to  sup 
port  a  miserable  existence.  Nor  should  we  wait  for 
the  famishing  and  naked  to  call  for  assistance  (for 
delicacy  plight  prevent  their  ever  asking  aid  of  a 
more  wealthy  neighbor),  but  go  and  impart  to  them 
of  our  substance,  unasked,  and  we  cannot  fail  to 
receive  their  blessing,  and  also  the  blessing  of  God. 
To  those  who  are  not  completely  wrapped  up  in 
selfishness,  the  happiest  portion  of  their  lives  is  spent 
in  making  others  happy ;  for  "  it  is  more  blessed  to 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  325 

give  than  to  receive."  We  all  of  us  fall  very  far 
short  of  our  duty  In  this  respect ;  for  there  are  none 
but  what  are  capable  of  performing  some  act  of 
kindness  to  the  poor  and  downcast,  without  doing 
the  least  injury  to  themselves,  even  if  it  is  nothing 
more  than  a  kind  word,  or  look.  And  how  many  of 
us  withhold  even  these ! 


Hoplcinton,  Jan.  1,  1861. 
To  GEO.  V.  HOYLE,  ESQ., 

Supt.  of  Northern  N.  Y.  Railroad. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : — You  will  undoubtedly  recollect 
a  conversation  which  passed  between  yourself  and 
me  a  few  months  since,  at  the  Malone  Station,  while 
I  was  waiting  for  a  train  of  cars.  The  subject  of 
religion  was  referred  to,  in  connection  with  a  letter 
you  addressed  to  my  husband,  in  reply  to  one  in 
which  he  made  application  for  a  half-fare  ticket ;  and 
you  will  also  remember  asking  me  why  he  never  re 
plied  to  your  letter.  Being  very  busy  at  the  time,  he 
neglected  it  until  it  passed  from  his  memory.  You 
then  gave  me  an  invitation  to  reply  to  it,  as  though 
it  had  been  addressed  to  me,  which  I  meant  to  do  ere 
this,  but  the  letter  had  been  laid  aside  with  an  accu 
mulated  mass  of  other  similar  matter,  and  has  been 
28 


326  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

but  recently  brought  to  my  notice,  and  that  by  mere 
accident.  ...  I  want  to  do  some  good  every  day  of 
the  new  year ;  so  I  will  commence  by  trying  to  in 
form  you  on  some  points  of  faith  held  by  Univeralists, 
which  you  seem  not  to  fully  comprehend. 

First,  you  ask : — "Are  you  sure,  my  dear  sir,  that 
you  teach  the  doctrine  of  our  blessed  Saviour?" 

In  reply  to  this,  I  will  quote  the  Saviour's  own 
language :  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall 
come  to  me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out.  For  I  came  down  from  heaven, 
not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
me.  And  this  is  the  Father's  will  which  hath  sent 
me,  that  of  all  which  he  hath  given  me,  I  should 
lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last 
day."  John  vi.  37,  38,  39.  "No  man  can  come 
to  me,  except  the  Father  which  has  sent  me  draw 
him."  John  vi.  44.  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from 
the  earth  will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  "All  that  the 
Father  hath  are  mine." 

Is  it  not  enough  that  God  wills  the  salvation  of  all 
men  ?  "  for  He  doeth  according  to  His  will  in  the 
army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth,  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  Him, 
What  doest  thou  ?"  For  proof  that  He  wills  the 
salvation  of  all  mankind,  see  1  Tim.  ii.  4  :  "  Who 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth." 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  327 

Second,  God  purposes  the  salvation  of  all  men, 
Eph.  i.  9,  10.  "  Having  made  known  unto  us  the 
mystery  of  His  will,  according  to  His  good  pleasure 
which  he  had  purposed  in  Himself;  that  in  the  dis 
pensation  of  the  fulness  of  times,  He  might  gather 
together  in  one,  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are 
in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  Him." 

Third,  God  promises  to  save  all  men.  Acts.  iii.  25 : 
"  Ye  are  the  children  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the 
covenant  which  God  made  with  our  fathers,  saying 
unto  Abraham  :  And  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  kin 
dreds  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 

Fourth.  God  makes  oath  that  He  will  save  all 
men.  Isa.  xlv.  23,  24  :  "I  have  sworn  by  myself,  the 
word  has  gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righteousness, 
and  shall  not  return.  That  unto  me  every  knee 
shall  bow,  every  tongue  shall  swear,  surely  shall 
say :  In  the  Lord  have  I  righteousness  and 
strength." 

Fifth.  God  sent  His  Son  to  save  all  men.  John 
iii,  17  :  "  For  God  sent  not  His  Son  into  the  world 
to  condemn  the  world ;  but  that  the  world,  through 
Him,  might  be  saved." 

Then,  if  God  has  willed,  purposed,  promised, 
made  oath  to,  and  sent  Hisonly  begotten  Son  to  ac 
complish  the  salvation  of  the  world,  why  should  you 
or  I  doubt  it  ?  and  what  will  it  avail  if  we  do  ?  The 
Bible  assures  us  that  sin  and  death,  hell  and  the 


328  MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS. 

devil  shall  all  be  destroyed.  1  Cor.  xxv.  26:  "For 
He,  (Christ),  must  reign  until  He  has  put  all  ene~ 
mies  under  His  feet.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  be 
destroyed,  is  Death,"  /•  Rev.  xxi.  4  :  "  And  God 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying  ; 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain,  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away."  Second,  the  devil  is  to  be 
destroyed.  Heb.  ii :  14,  15 :  "  Forasmuch  then,  as 
the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  He 
also  Himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same  ;  that 
through  death,  He  might  destroy  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil,  and  deliver  them 
who  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their  life-time 
subject  to  bondage." 

Third.  The  sin  of  the  world  shall  be  destroyed :  for 
proof  see  Hosea  x.  8  :  "  The  sin  of  Israel  shall  be 
destroyed."  John  i.  29:  "Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Heb. 
ix.  26  :  "  But  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world 
hath  he  appeared  to  put  away  sin,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself." 

Fourth.  Hell  shall  be  destroyed.  Rev.  xx.  14* 
"And  death  and  hell  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire ; 
this  is  the  second  death." 

Your  second  question  is  :  "  Has  He  not  said,  *  un 
less  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king 
dom  of  God — or  Heaven?"  Most  _emphatically, 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  329 

sir,  yes  ;  and  no  denomination  of  Christians  attach 
more  importance  to  this  fundamental  doctrine  of 
Christianity  than  the  Universalist.  I  will  venture 
the  assertion,  that  you  have  never  heard  from  the 
lips  of  an  intelligent  Universalist,  nor  seen  in  all  their 
writings,  the  idea  advanced,  that  any  who  have 
reached  the  age  of  accountability  are  fitted  for  the 
Heavenly  Kingdom  without  the  regenerating  influ 
ence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  No  ;  not  even  the  saints  so 
called ;  for  the  Bible  expressly  declares  that  "  all 
have  sinned;"  that  none  live  and  "  doeth  good  and 
sinneth  not."  John  i.  8  :  "  If  we  say  that  we  have 
no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not 
in  us." 

Your  third  question:  "Do  you  teach  regeneration 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  ?"  The  answer  to  the  second 
is  also  a  reply  in  part  to  this  ;  and  the  Scripture  is 
very  plain  on  this  point.  Notwithstanding  the  oft- 
repeated  assertion  of  the  opposers  of  the  "  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints,"  that  they  do  not  believe  in 
the  new  birth,  and  that  all  are  "  going  to  heaven  in 
their  sins,"  is  very  wide  from  the  truth.  I  will  put 
the  most  charitable  construction  possible  upon  their 
misrepresentation,  and  simply  say  they  are  mistaken 
though  it  does  seem  that  common  honesty,  to  say 
nothing  of  Christian  courtesy,  would  dictate  that 
they  inform  themselves,  or  make  an  effort  at  least,  in 
the  spirit  of  candor,  as  you  have  done  in  your  letter, 
28* 


330  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

to  ascertain  what  the  offensive  doctrine  is,  they  labor 
so  hard  to  pull  down.  I  can  easily  believe  they  will 
receive  forgiveness  for  their  ignorance,  even  though 
it  be  wilful ;  for  St.  Paul  says  of  himself,  he  was  "  a 
blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor  and  injurious  ;  but  I 
obtained  mercy,  because  I  did  it  ignorantly  in  un 
belief."  It  was  this  very  doctrine  of  "  the  restitution 
of  all  things,  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  God's  holy 
prophets  since  the  world  began,"  that  Paul,  thought 
he  was  "  doing  God's  service"  in  opposing  before  his 
conversion. 

The  Universalist  believes,  as  the  Scriptures  de 
clare,  that  the  good  "  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh"  will,  in  His  own  time,  wipe  away  tears  from 
off  all  faces  ;  and  the  rebuke  of  His  poeple  shall  be 
taken  away  from  off  all  the  earth  ;  for  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it."  In  view  of  the  stubbornness  of  some, 
and  their  blindness  and  perversity,  God  has  declared  : 
"  And  I  will  give  them  a  heart  to  know  me,  that  I 
am  the  Lord,  and  they  shall  be  my  people,  and  I 
shall  be  their  God,  for  they  shall  return  unto  me  with 
their  whole  heart."  ..."  A  new  heart  also  will  I 
give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you,  and 
I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh." 

Both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  abound  in  tes 
timony,  that  all  shall  turn  to  God. 

"All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember  and 
turn  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  the  kindreds  of  the  nations 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  331 

shall  worship  before  Him."  *'  All  nations  whom 
Thou  hast  made,  shall  come  and  worship  before  Thee, 
O  Lord,  and  shall  glorify  Thy  name.'''  "  Behold 
Thou  shalt  call  a  nation  that  Thou  knewest  not,  and 
nations  that  know  not  Thee  shall  run  unto  Thee." 
"Ask  of  Me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  thy  possession."  "  Thou  hast  given  him  power 
over  all  flesh,  that  he  should  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  thou  hast  given  him." 

Scripture  might  be  quoted  to  an  indefiinite  length, 
that  asserts  unconditionally  the  triumph  of  holiness 
over  sin  and  error,  but  it  seems  unnecessary  to  quote 
farther  on  this  point.  One  more  paragraph  in  your 
letter,  deserves  notice,  namely,  "  To  my  mind,  it  is 
a  dreadful  thought — the  possibility  of  mistake  here 
— that  at  the  judgment  day,  you  or  I  should  find  we 
had  mistaken  the  true  meaning  of  God's  blessed 
word,  and,  that  being  destitute  of  a  '  Saviour's 
righteousness,'  and  nothing  to  shield  us  from  the 
penalty  of  God's  holy  law,  we  had  so  often  violated, 
we  shall  be  '  cast  off  to  the  left ; '  '  having  sown  to 
the  wind,  we  must  reap  the  whirlwind.'  ' 

The  "  mistake  "  you  speak  of,  my  dear  sir,  if  it  be 
a  mistake,  is  on  the  side  of  charity,  and,  as  you 
seem  to  look  upon  it,  a  sin  that  "  hath  no  forgive 
ness,"  the  heinous  one  of  attributing  to  the  Father 
of -mercies,  more  goodness,  benevolence,  and  for- 


332 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 


giveness,  than  he  will  exercise  upon  his  own  erring 
offspring,  and  that,  too,  when  he  compares  his  love 
for  the  sinner  to  the  purest  earthly  love — that  of  a 
mother,  and  says,  "  She  may  forget  her  child,  yet 
will  I  not  forget  thee."  "  I  will  never  leave  nor 
forsake  thee  ; "  can  you  not  believe  it  ?  When  he  has 
lovingly  assured  you  that  he  is  "  able  to  do  exceed 
ing  abundantly,  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think  ?  " 
How  much  can  we  ask  ?  and  how  much  more,  that, 
in  the  fulness  of  our  hearts,  must  forever  remain  un 
spoken,  can  we  think?  O,  the  subject  is  without 
bound  or  limit ;  for,  "  who,  by  searching,  can  find 
out  God?" 

This  idea  of  "  righteousness  "  being  a  shield  from 
the  penalty  of  God's  holy  law,  is  as  old  as  Pharisee- 
ism  itself,  and  as  absurd.  That,  after  all,  is  the  great 
"  mistake  "  of  the  Christian  world  ;  that  they  can  be 
shielded  from  the  penalty  of  a  violation  of  God's 
holy  law  by  a  righteousness  for  which  they  expect 
to  be  paid  with  compound  interest,  in  another  world. 
There  is  no  more  prominent  doctrine  taught  in 
Scriptures,  than  that  eternal  life  is  the  free  and  un 
merited  gift  of  God ;  ("  By  grace  are  ye  saved,  not 
of  works ")  unless  it  be  the  doctrine  of  the  cer 
tainty  of  punishment  for  every  transgression, 
whether  moral  or  physical.  "  Though  hand  join 
in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  be  unpunished." 
Both  are  as  sure  as  the  testimony  of  Holy  Writ  can 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  333 

make  them,  and  the  experience  of  every  day  life 
confirms  the  truth  of  the  latter.  I  appeal  to  your 
candor,  sir,  to  decide  whether  a  doctrine  which 
teaches  that  He  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty, " 
and  that  the  righteous  are  recompensed  in  the  earth, 
much  more  the  wicked  and  the  sinner,"  that  for 
every  transgression  we  shall  receive  a  just  retribu 
tion,  has  not  a  more  restraining  influence  upon  the 
evil-minded,  than  one  which  assures  him  that  there 
is  pleasure  in  sin,  and  accompany  it  with  some  home 
made  Scripture,  which  says  that,  he  can  now  "  roll 
sin  as,  a  sweet  morsel,  under  his  tongue,"  but  that 
an  eternity  of  woe  awaits  him  beyond  the  grave, 
unless  he  repent  in  season  to  escape  all  consequences 
of  a  "  violation  of  God's  holy  law  ?  "  Is  it  the 
amount  of  punishment  in  the  far-off  future,  with 
some  contingency  between,  whereby  an  escape  can 
be  effected,  or  the  certainty  of  it  now,  "  in  the  day 
of  transgression,"  that  deters  the  sinner  ?  Would 
you,  if  you  expected  to  insure  obedience  in  your 
child,  say,  "  My  son,  the  offence  which  I  have  com 
manded  you  not  to  commit,  is  one  in  which  there  is 
great  pleasure,  at  the  time  ;  indeed,  its  influence  will 
be  perfectly  bewitching,  but  in  case  of  disobedience, 
I  will  cut  your  right  hand  off,  in  ten  years  from  now, 
unless  you  repent  before  then  ;  "  or  would  you  tell 
him  that  his  disobedience  would  bring  upon  him 
disgrace,  and  wretchedness  and  sorrow  upont  yourself 


334  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

and  family,  and  there  was  no  possible  way  of  escape 
from  a  speedy  and  fearful  retribution,  and  which 
course  would  exert  the  most  restraining  influence 
upon  your  son  ?  Now,  here  is  a  precise  representa 
tion  of  the  two  doctrines  in  question.  The  Scripture 
you  quote,  with  regard  to  "  sowing  to  the  wind,  and 
reaping  the  whirlwind,"  was  applied  to  those  who 
worshipped  idols  previous  to  the  Saviour's  time. 
Universalists  do  not  accept  it  as  applicable  to  them, 
for  they  worship  the  one  living  and  true  God,  who  is 
the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  those  that 
believe."  In  your  own  language,  "  To  my  mind,  it 
is  a  dreadful  thought"  that,  any  one  sect  or  denomi 
nation,  or  individual,  should,  by  any  process  of  rea 
soning,  be  led  to  believe  themselves  the  peculiar 
favorites  of  God,  and  that  others  who  honestly  differ 
from  them  in  opinion  are  to  be  "  cast  off  at  the  left," 
Christ  has  plainly  told  us  what  pure  and  undefiled 
religion  is,  and,  that  our  whole  duty  lies  in  "  loving 
God  with  all  our  heart,  mind,  might,  and  strength, 
and  our  neighbors  as  ourselves  ;"  or,  in  other  words  : 
*'  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto 
you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them."  *'  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  the  least  one  of  these,  ye  have 
done  it  to  me."  If  these  things  are  so,  and  Christ's 
test  of  discipleship  is  as  good  as  I  can  refer  you  to, 
what  one  church  is  all  in  the  right,  or  which  is  all 
in  the  wrong  ?  and  the  religion  which  Christ  enjoined 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  335 

on  his  hearers,  as  above  all  price,  is  just  as  apt  to  be 
found  in  those  whom  the  self-styled  "  evangelical 
churches "  sneeringly  denominate  the  "  world's 
people,"  as  with  themselves.  This  truth  is  most 
happily  illustrated  by  Jesus,  himself,  in  the  parable 
of  the  two  sons.  The  son  who  said,  "  I  go,  but  went 
not,"  was  not  the  one  "  who  did  the  will  of  his 
Father ;  "  and  Christ  had  the  plainness  to  tell  his 
questioners  that  "  publicans  and  harlots  would  go  in 
to  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you." 

In  an  ancient  history  of  Connecticut,  is  the  follow 
ing  anecdote  :  "  Soon  after  the  settlement  of  the 
town  of  New  Haven,  a  number  of  persons  went  over 
to  what  is  now  called  the  town  of  Milford,  where, 
finding  the  soil  very  good,  they  were  desirous  of 
effecting  a  settlement ;  but  the  premises  were  in 
peaceable  possession  of  the  Indians,  and  some  con 
scientious  scruples  arose  as  to  the  propriety  of  depos 
ing  and  expelling  them.  To  test  the  case,  a  church 
meeting  was  called,  and  the  matter  determined  by 
solemn  vote  of  that  sacred  body.  After  several 
speeches  had  been  made  in  relation  to  the  subject, 
they  proceeded  to  pass  votes.  The  first  was  as  fol 
lows  :  voted,  that  the  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the 
fulness  thereof.  This  passed  in  the  affirmative  with 
great  unanimity.  Second — voted,  that  the  earth  is 
given  to  the  saints.  This  was  also  determined  like 
the  former,  nem.  con.  Third, — voted  we  are  the 


336  MISCELLANEOUS  ESSAYS. 

saints  ;  which,  passing  without  a  dissenting  voice, 
the  title  was  considered  indisputable,  and  the  In 
dians  were  soon  compelled  to  evacuate  the  place, 
and  relinquish  the  possession  to  the  rightful  own 
ers."  Those  who  have  resolved  themselves,  the 
saints  of  the  present  time,  have  not  taken  a  small 
tract  of  fertile  land  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut, 
and  appropriated  to  their  own  use,  but  they  have 
laid  claim  to  the  whole  heavenly  city,  and  after 
death,  they  expect  to  occupy  every  room  of  their 
"  Father's  house  of  many  mansions,"  to  the  exclu 
sion  of  heretics  and  sinners,  whom  Christ  had 
especial  directions  to  "  seek  and  to  save,"  for  "  the 
whole  need  not  a  physician,"  notwithstanding  they 
have  pretended  to  read  the  "  last  will  and  testament," 
of  their  heavenly  Father,  in  which  he  has  promised 
to  all  his  children  an  eternal  inheritance  in  that 
goodly  land,  "incorruptible,*  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away."  "  And  in  this  mountain,  shall  the 
Lord  of  hosts  make  unto  all  people,  a  feast  of  fat 
things."  St.  John,  in  his  wonderful  vision,  saw 
every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the 
sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,"  and  heard  them 
praising  God,  and  the  Lamb,  forever  and  ever.  I 
have  extended  this  letter  much  beyond  the  limits  I 
intended  to  occupy,  but  I  trust  you  will  pardon  my 
prolixity,  and  hoping,  meantime,  that  you  will 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  33T 

receive  this  in  the  spirit  of  kindness  as  it  has  been 
written.  I  will  close  with  the  closing  quotation  of 
your  own  letter ;  "  Examine  yourselves,  and  see  if 
you  be  in  the  faith." 

Very  truly  and  Respectfully  yours, 

ELOISE  M.  ABBOTT. 


DR.  THOMAS    DICK?S  LETTER. 


HIS   RELIGIOUS   OPINIONS. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Thomas  Dick,  the  celebrated 
author  of  "  The  Christian  Philosopher,"  "  The  Phi 
losophy  of  a  Future  State,"  and  many  other  works, 
to  be  found  in  nearly  all  public  and  private  libraries, 
departed  this  life,  at  his  late  residence,  near  Dundee, 
Scotland,  on  the  29th  of  June,  1857.  We  publish 
in  this  volume  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  Dick,  to  the 
late  J.  E.  Miles,  Esq.,  of  Watertown,  Jefferson  Co., 
N.  Y.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  clearly  avows  his 
belief  in  the  final  salvation  of  all  men,  although  he 
never  advocated  the  sentiment  in  his  public  writings. 
But  such  being  his  belief,  it  was  nearly  impossible 
that  it  should  not  make  itself  manifest,  more  or  less, 
in  the  voluminous  productions  of  his  pen.  That  it 
29 


338  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

did  thus  give  so  much  coloring  to  some  of  his  publi 
cations  as  to  excite  suspicions  of  his  Universal  ten 
dencies,  is  a  fact  learned  from  this  letter.  The  case 
of  Dr.  Dick  is  another  evidence  of  the  significant 

O 

fact,  that  whenever  a  clear,  sound,  logical"  mind, 
which  is  united  with  a  humane  heart,  can  rise  suffi 
ciently  above  the  force  and  bias  of  early  education 
to  weigh  theological  tenets  with  an  impartial  and 
earnest  desire  to  attain  the  truth,  it  almost  invaria 
bly  casts  off  the  doctrine  of  vindictive  and  never- 
ceasing  punishment,  and  embraces  the  faith  of  Uni 
versal  Salvation.  The  religious  world  is  full  of  in 
stances  of  this  character,  and  they  are  constantly 
coming  to  light.  Dr.  Dick,  it  will  also  be  perceived, 
repudiates  the  deleterious  and  barbarous  law  of 
capital  punishment. 

On  account  of  its  peculiar  value,  we  publish  the 
letter  entire,  as  it  was  written  by  the  author  in  the 
frankness  of  private  correspondence  :  — 

Broughty  Ferry,  near  Dundee, 
Feb.  22,  1849. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  —  I  was  favored  with  your  kind 
letter  of  April  3d,  1848,  —  a  considerable  time  ago, 
—  but  owing  to  frequent  indisposition,  and  particu 
larly  to  the  numerous  letters  which  of  late  I  have 
had  to  reply  to — my  reply  has  been  postponed  till 
now.  Your  letter  evidently  indicates  a  large  share 
of  good  sense,  intellectual  vigor,  expansion  of  mind, 
a  goodly  portion  of  acquired  knowledge,  and  I  am 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS.  339 

happy  to  find  that  my  writings  have  been  appreciated 
by  such  a  mind,  and  have  been  the  means  of  commu 
nicating  some  useful  instruction. 

I  find  that  your  attention  has  been  directed  to  the 
subject  of  astronomy — a  science  which  has  been  too 
much  neglected  by  the  great  bulk  of  mankind,  and 
which  has  a  tendency  more  than  any  other  to  elevate 
and  expand  our  conceptions  of  the  perfections  and 
operations  of  the  Great  Creator.  This  neglect  has, 
perhaps,  been  owing  in  part  to  the  mode  in  which 
the  subject  has  been  generally  treated,  ai\d  numer 
ous  technical  terms  which  have  been  interwoven  in 
its  discussions.  It  was  never  my  intention,  in  my 
writings  on  this  subject,  to  enter  into  the  abstrusities 
of  the  science,  or  its  mathematical  departments ;  but 
more  of  its  facts  and  principles  may  be  stated  and 
illustrated,  so  as  to  bring  them  within  the  compre 
hension  of  ordinary  minds,  to  give  them  a  taste  for 
the  subject,  and  to  prepare  them  for  more  abstruse, 
investigations,  should  they  choose  afterwards  to  pros 
ecute  them. 

Perhaps,  in  your  remote  district,  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  you  have  little  opportunity  of  looking  at 
the  heavenly  bodies  through  telescopes,  and  hence  I 
find  you  are  anxious  to  procure  a  "  small  achromatic 
object  glass  and  eye  piece."  Achromatic  object 
glasses,  of  any  considerable  size,  generally  sell  at  a 
pretty  high  price.  A  few  months  ago,  I  sent  the 
material  of  an  achromatic  telescope  to  an  astronomi 
cal  genius,  Mr.  Daniel  Simmons,  Paris  Hill,  Oneida 
county.  The  object  glass  is  about  four  inches  in 
diameter,  and  five  feet  four  inches  focal  distance. 
It  cost  fifteen  pounds  sterling.  Four  or  five  eye 
pieces,  in  brass  were  sent  along  with  it,  and  several 
other  articles,  which  cost  about  five  pounds  more. 
It  will  make  an  excellent  telescope ;  the  large  tube 


340  MISCELLANEOUS  ESSAYS. 

was  to  be  fitted  up  by  Mr.  Simmons  himself,  and  he 
has  already  obtained  some  interesting  views  by 
means  of  it.  But  I  suppose  such  a  telescope  would 
'be  considered  as  too  expensive  for  your  use.  The 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  you  have  calculated  for 
February  22d,  will  be  invisible  here,  as  it  happens 
about  half  past  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
23d,  when  the  sun  is  below  the  horizon.  The 
eclipse  will  be  annular,  as  the  moon's  semi-diameter 
is  only  15  deg.  39  sec.,  while  the  diameter  of  the 
sun  is  16  deg.  11  min. 

Your  son,  Pliny  Miles,  with  whom  I  have  fre 
quently  corresponded,  has  at  length  arrived  in  this 
country,  after  having  traversed  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  United  States.  He  arrived  in  this 
quarter  about  a  fortnight  ago,  and  has  nearly  finished 
a  course  of  lectures  in  Dundee.  He  is  an  interest 
ing  young  man,  of  good  dispositions  and  talents,  and 
appears  to  have  acquired  a  considerable  share  of 
miscellaneous  information.  He  appears  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  world,  and  makes  himself  at 
home,  wherever  he  has  occasion  to  sojourn.  I  have 
felt  much  interested  in  his  society.  He  is  anxious 
that  I  should  take  a  trip  to  America,  and  deliver  a 
few  lectures  in  different  places  ;  but  at  my  advanced 
period  of  life,  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  expedient 
to  undertake  so  long  a  journey.  According  to  his 
account,  I  have  got  several  years  ahead  of  you  in 
the  j«urney  of  life.  As  the  lectures  of  Mr.  Miles  are 
generally  well  attended,  it  is  likely  he  will  realize  a 
small  fortune  by  the  time  he  has  finished  his  pere 
grinations.  He  has  been  frequently  with  us  since 
he  arrived  in  Dundee.  Last  night  we  had  the  plea 
sure  of  his  company,  and  this  morning  he  left  us 
after  breakfast,  as  he  was  to  deliver  a  lecture  in 
Dundee  this  evening.  I  wish  him  much  success, 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  341 

and  pray  God  that  he  may  be  under  the  Divine  care 
and  direction  in  all  his  movements  in  life,  and  be 
preserved  from  all  evils  and  dangers,  both  physical 
and  moral,  and  be  returned  again  to  his  father's 
house  in  safety  and  in  peace. 

You  requested  me  to  state  an  opinion  "  On  the 
final  destiny  of  man."  This  is  a  subject  of  vast  im 
portance,  and  it  becomes  us  to  approach  it  with 
humility  and  reverence.  In  regard  to  future  punish 
ment,  there  are  several  very  strong  expressions  in 
Scripture,  and  whatever  opinions  we  adopt  on  this 
point,  we  ought  to  be  fully  .persuaded  that  they  are 
in  general  correspondence  with  the  tenor  of  the  in 
spired  writings,  and  with  the  character  of  God  as 
therein  delineated.  The  terms  eternal,  everlasting, 
&c.,  certainly  do  not  of  themselves,  in  most  cases, 
imply  duration  without  end,  as  many  of  those  objects 
to  which  such  epithets  are  applied,  are  acknowledged 
to  be  limited  in  their  duration.  At  thie  same  time  a 
difficulty  occurs,  in  the  consideration,  that  the  dura 
tion  of  the  happiness  of  the  righteous  and  the  punish 
ment  of  the  wicked  are  frequently  expressed  by  the 
very  same  terms,  as  in  Matt.  xxv.  46,  which  might 
lead  us  at  first  sight  to  conclude,  that  if  the  one  be 
limited  as  to  duration,  so  is  the  other ;  and  there  is 
some  difficulty  in  removing  this  objection,  so  as  to 
fully  satisfy  the  mind,  and  to  convince  others  of  the 
consistency  of  limited  duration  being  intended,  in  the 
one  case,  and  unlimited  duration  in  the  other.  We 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  very  cautious  how  we  inter 
pret  the  language  of  Scripture  ;  and  there  ought  to 
be  a  consistency  in  the  opinions  we  form,  and  the 
conclusions  at  which  we  arrive  in  this  momentous 
subject.  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  as  to  this 
point,  we  are  sure  that  "  The  Judge  of  all  the  earth 
must  do  right."  When  I  consider  the  boundless 
29* 


342  MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS. 

nature  of  eternity,  and  when  I  consider  the  limited 
duration  of  man,  I  can  scarcely  bring  myself  to  the 
belief  that  the  sins  of  a  few  fleeting  years  are  to  be 
punished  throughout  a  duration  that  has  no  end ; 
more  especially  when  it  is  declared,  more  than  a 
score  of  times,  that  "  the  Mercy  of  the  Lord  endur- 
eth  forever,"  and  that  "His  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  his  works."  If  His  mercy  endures  for  ever, 
it  appears  scarcely  consistent  with  the  idea  that  pun 
ishment  will  be  inflicted  throughout  unlimited  dura 
tion.  Many  good  men  have  been  much  perplexed 
on  this  subject,  although  they  have  said  little  about 
it  in  public.  The  late  Mr.  John  Foster,*  whose 
works  are  so  highly  esteemed,  and  who  appears  to 
have  been  a  profound  thinker,  has  expressed  himself 
.very  decisively  on  this  subject,  in  a  long  letter  which 
appears  in  his  correspondence,  in  which  he  alludes 
to  the  case  of  many  ministers  of  his  acquaintance 
who  appear  to  have  imbibed  the  same  sentiments, 
though  they  did  not  make  them  a  prominent  subject 
of  discussion.  As  to  myself,  I  have  never  said  any 
thing  against  such  opinions,  though  I  have  never 
formally  supported  them,  except  in  private.  It  has 
always  been  my  opinion,  that  the  doctrine  of  Univer 
sal  Restoration  ought  to  be  made  an  open  question 
among  Christians,  and  that  no  one  should  be  con 
sidered  as  a  heretic,  whatever  side  he  takes  on  such 
a  question  ;  and  therefore  I  condemn  the  Evangelical 
Alliancef  for  excluding  from  their  body  those  who 
do  not  believe  in  the  eternity  of  punishment,  as  well 
as  for  excluding  the  Society  of  Friends,  whom  I 
consider  as  the  best  practical  Christians  in  our 
country.  Some  American  writers  have  inferred  from 
different  parts  of  my  writings,  that  they  are  favor- 

*Rev.  John  Foster,  an  eminent  Baptist  clergyman,  of  England, 
t Which  had  then  recently  held  a  meeting  in  London. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  843 

able  to  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration,  and  I 
was,  some  time  ago,  accused  of  giving  countenance 
to  this  opinion,  by  a  respectable  clergyman,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  representations  I  have  given  of  the 
state  of  two  different  worlds,  in  Part  III.  of  "  The 
Philosophy  of  a  Future  state."  As  it  is  considered 
to  be  an  improvement,  in  modern  legislation  to 
infliet  upon  criminals  such  punishments  as  will  have 
a  tendency  to  promise  their  reformation,  and  not 
merely  that  individuals  may  suffer  pain  ;  so  I  think 
it  is  more  consistent  with  the  perfections  of  God  to 
suppose  that  the  punishments  he  inflicts  upon  the 
wicked  are  intended  for  their  ultimate  benefit,  and 
to  prepare  them  for  restoration  to  the  happiness  they 
had  lost.  The  opinion  that  sin  is  an  infinite  evil, 
leads  to  an  absurdity ;  for  it  is  admitted  that  some 
sins  are  greater,  or  more  atrocious  than  others.  But, 
if  every  sin,  even  the  least,  be  infinite,  then  it  follows 
that  some  sins  are  more  than  infinite,  which  is 
absurd.  And  if  every  sin  be  infinite,  because  it  is 
the  violation  of  the  command  of  an  infinite  Being, 
then  it  follows  that  obedience  to  the  commands  of  an 
infinite  Being  must  be  considered  as  as  infinite  good ; 
but  no  finite  being  can  perform  what  may  be  called 
an  infinite  good. 

As  to  capital  punishment,  as  inflicted  by  human 
governments,  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be 
universally  abolished,  although  the  convicted  mur 
derer,  notwithstanding,  should  be  subjected  to  the 
severest  punishment,  short  of  death.  Many  an  in 
nocent  person  has  been  capitally  punished  both  for 
murder  and  other  crimes,  and  when  his  innocence 
was  ascertained,  he  was  gone  beyond  the  reach  of 
any  recompense  being  made  to  him  in  this  world. 
And,  therefore,  the  subject  of  capital  punishment  is 
now  beginning  to  excite  the  attention  of  Govern- 


344  MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS. 

ments,  and  the  mass  of  the  community.  Within 
these  two  or  three  years  past,  the  subject  has  been 
brought  before  the  British  Parliament,  but  has  met 
with  considerable  opposition.  It  will,  however,  be 
brought  before  the  Parliament  again,  this  session. 

A  good  deal  is  doing  just  now  in  this  country  to 
promote  economy  in  our  government  expenditure — 
which  is  most  extravagant — and  likewise  endeavor 
ing  to  counteract  war,  and  to  secure  the  blessing  of 
universal  peace  among  the  nations,  particularly  in 
recommending  arbitration  instead  of  war,  when  dis 
putes  between  nations  occur.  Your  countryman, 
Mr.  Elihu  Burritt,  along  with  another  gentlemen,  a 
few  days  ago,  delivered  some  powerful  addresses  in 
Dundee,  on  this  subject.  War  is  not  only  inhuman 
and  unchristian,  but  an  absurdity  ;  for  it  never  de 
cides  on  what  side  justice  and  right  are  to  be  found, 
and  when  millions  of  money  have  been  spent,  and 
ten  thousands  of  human  beings  have  been  slaught 
ered,  everything  returns  nearly  to  the  same  position 
as  when  the  parties  began.  Nations  that  resort  to 
physical  force  in  order  to  settle  disputes,  can  be  con 
sidered  as  only  half  civilized.  I  had  several  other 
things  to  state,  but  my  limits  will  not  permit. 
Wishing  you  all  happiness,  both  here  and  hereafter, 
I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

THOMAS  DICK. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  345 


CHURCH   ORGANIZATION. 


"  This  do  in  remembrance  of  me."  —  Luke  six.  22. 

Many  of  the  Christian  world  are  so  much  opposed 
to  ceremonies  of  every  description,  that  the  observ 
ance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  unheeded  by  them,  and 
passed  by  as  a  useless  form ;  and  by  others  it  is  re 
garded  as  almost  blasphemous.  But  the  greatest 
majority  of  professors  of  religion  is  made  up  of 
those  whose  worship  consists  mostly  of  the  outward 
observance  of  all  the  forms  of  the  church ;  and  if 
these  were  taken  away,  what  remains  would  exist  but 
in  name.  Though  a  due  observance  of  the  ordinances 
of  the  Gospel  is  productive  of  much  happiness  to 
the  faithful  believer  in  Christianity,  and  is  also 
necessary  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  its  divine 
Author :  thus  inciting  them  to  cherish  a  love  for 
those  virtues  he  sought,  and  so  happily  exemplified 
during  his  short  life.  It  was  evidently  with  this 
view,  and  this  only,  that  Christ  urged  upon  his  fol 
lowers  a  performance  of  this  external  service.  And 
it  is  for  this  same  reason  that  we  regard  all  re 
ligious  ceremonies  of  any  utility,  as  the  assembling 
ourselves  together  on  the  Sabbath,  to  listen  to  ex 
positions  of  the  word  of  God ;  to  unite  in  public 


346  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

prayer,  and  to  raise  our  voices  in  sacred  songs  of 
praise  to  the  Author  of  all  good.  All  these  are  but 
ceremonies ;  but  so  long  as  they  are  beneficial  in 
calling  to  mind  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ, 
to  which  he  submitted  with  calmness  and  resigna 
tion,  as  evidence  of  his  love  to  a  sinful  world,  a 
strict  observance  of  them  is  calculated  to  promote 
unity  of  feeling  among  brethren,  and  is  therefore 
worthy  the  approbation  of  every  one  who  is  deserv 
ing  the  name  of  Christian.  The  question  naturally 
arises  here,  who  are  worthy  members  of  the  Chris 
tian  Church  ?  Believers  in  the  endless  duration  of 
sin  and  punishment  have  a  right,  of  course,  to  ex 
clude  all  from  their  churches  who  do  not  reach  their 
standard  of  perfection ;  and  in  this  they  manifest  a 
consistency  which  is  truly  commendable,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  their  belief;  for  it 
would  be  the  height  of  absurdity  for  them  to  retain 
in  their  earthly  folds  those  whom  God  will  cast  off 
for  ever.  But,  according  to  the  belief  of  the  Uni- 
versalists,  we  cannot  see  that  they  are  in  any  way 
justifiable  in  rejecting  one  from  their  communion 
table,  for  we  profess  to  believe  that  all,  however 
vile,  will  eventually  become  members  of  Christ's 
church.  Why,  then,  should  any  be  cast  off  here,  as 
unworthy  of  our  regard  ?  It  would  require  a  very 
nice  discrimination  to  draw  the  dividing  line  between 
the  righteous  and  wicked,  as  "  all  have  come  short 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  347 

of  the  glory  of  God."  But  had  any  attained  per 
fection  in  this  world,  this  argument  would  have 
little  weight.  Then,  "  as  there  is  not  one  on  earth 
that  doeth  good  and  sinneth  not,"  why  would  it  not  be 
more  in  accordance  with  our  professed  belief,  to  accept 
all  who  apply  to  us  for  church  membership,  and  de 
pend  upon  the  example  of  those  who  choose  wisdom's 
ways  to  reclaim  the  more  unfortunate  ones,  who 
have  strayed  from  the  right  path.  It  would  in  no 
way  affect  those  more  worthy.  "For  he  that  eateth 
and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  dam 
nation  to  himself."  They  who  object  to  this,  forget 
that  Christ  sat  at  table  with  the  false-hearted  Judas, 
whom  he  knew  would  betray  him,  and  that  his  ene 
mies,  the  Pharisees,  brought  up  the  same  objection 
to  him  for  never  refusing  to  eat  with  publicans  and 
sinners.  The  self-righteous,  at  the  present  day,  who, 
like  the  Pharisees  of  old,  "  thank  God  that  they  are 
not  as  other  men,"  would  do  well  to  remember  his 
reply,  when  his  disciples  were  asked  why  he  eat  with 
publicans  and  sinners :  "  They  that  are  whole  have 
no  need  of  the  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  I 
came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  re 
pentance."  One  object  of  church  organization 
should  be,  in  my  humble  opinion,  for  the  mutual 
improvement  of  its  members  in  morality  and  reli 
gion.  But,  if  they  who  are  most  diseased,  and 
therefore  more  need  the  healing  remedy  of  the  great 


348  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

physician,  are  to  be  cast  out,  or  an  entrance  into 
the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord  is  refused  them,  of  what 
avail  is  the  example  of  the  remaining  members,  they 
are  whole,  and  therefore  have  no  need  of  the  phy 
sician.  But  the  practice  of  modern  Christians  is  so 
widely  different  from  the  way  that  Christ  himself 
taught,  that  they  seem  to  have  almost  lost  sight  of 
it.  For  when  a  brother  forsakes  the  path  of  recti 
tude,  he  is  not  "  told  his  fault  between  thee  and  him 
alone,"  but  no  time  is  lost  in  publishing  his  guilt  to 
the  whole  world :  thus  withholding  every  induce 
ment  for  a  timely  repentance. 


CHRISTIANITY. 


The  Christian  religion,  or  that  system  of  doctrines 
and  precepts  taught  by  Christ,  is  the  only  religion 
which  can,  with  truth,  lay  claim  to  universal  do 
minion  over  the  hearts  of  men.  It  contains  prin 
ciples  of  purity  and  benevolence,  which  are  every 
where  applicable,  and  exactly  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  human  nature  in  all  ranks  and  conditions  of  life. 
Christianity,  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  its  founder, 
is  not  an  inexplicable  system,  or  one  hard  to  be 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  349 

understood,  but,  on  the  contrary,  its  truths  are  at 
once  so  clear  and  obvious,  that  even  children  can 
comprehend  them,  and  they  were  illustrated  by 
Jesus  with  such  a  touching  simplicity,  that  they  not 
only  filled  the  learned  with  admiration,  but  also 
claimed  the  attention  of  the  most  illiterate.  The 
beauties  of  Christianity  have,  indeed,  been  greatly 
tarnished,  and  its  truths  more  or  less  disfigured  by 
its  professed  adherents,  though  they  are  not  alto 
gether  effaced,  for  they  are  yet  discernable  in  some 
degree,  in  all  the  various  opposing  sects  into  which 
the  Christian  world  is  divided.  The  great  com 
mandment  of  Christianity,  which  enjoins  love,  must 
be  adhered  to  with  inviolable  fidelity  before  it  shall 
have  done  its  perfect  work.  Then,  however  wide 
the  differences  of  opinion  might  be,  that  band  of 
fraternal  love  by  which  all  the  admirers  and  followers 
of  Jesus  are  united,  would  never  be  severed.  No 
matter,  then,  how  various  the  buildings  are  that  men 
erect,  if  they  rest  upon  that  noble-  and  simple  foun 
dation  of  love,  which  Jesus  originated,  and  from  the 
practice  of  which  he  never  stepped  aside.  Every 
act  of  his  short  and  eventful  life,  was  a  happy  illus 
tration  of  the  fact,  that  the  divine  principle  of  love 
is  best  calculated  to  touch  and  win  the  human  heart. 
Until  Jesus  lived  on  earth,  this  doctrine  was  un 
known,  for  no  human  mind  before  him  had  ever 
conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  the  kingdom  of 
30 


350  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

heaven  on  earth,  but  retaliation  and  revenge  were 
the  principles  on  which  men  acted.  "  An  eye  for 
an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  was  the  governing 
principle  of  the  world.  Therefore,  "  Love  your 
enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully 
use  you  and  persecute  you,"  was,  indeed,  a  new 
doctrine,  and  its  author  was  walking  in  a  path  hith 
erto  untrodden.  His  low  birth,  poverty,  and 
obscurity,  were  not  the  only  obstacles  he  had  to 
contend  with,  for  he  was  forsaken  by  his  most  inti 
mate  friends,  and  opposed,  and  even  put  to  death  by 
his  own  nation.  What  other  conclusion,  then,  can 
we  in  reason  arrive  at,  than,  that  this  doctrine  is 
sustained  by  an  Almighty  arm,  and  the  omnipotence 
of  truth.  Its  superiority  over  every  other  system 
that  preceded  it,  cannot  be  denied,  even  by  its  most 
rigid  opposers,  for  lessons  of  morality  so  perfect  as 
those  taught  by  Christ,  would  be  looked  for  in  vain 
from  any  other  source  ;  for,  surely  "  He  spake  as 
never  man  spake."  His  exhortations  to  the  practice 
of  virtue,  and  ardent  incitement  to  piety  and  devo 
tion,  and  the  inducements  he  laid  before  his  people 
to  attain  them,  were  so  plain  and  simple,  as  to  be 
intelligible  to  the  meanest  capacities,  and  also  form 
an  inexhaustable  source  of  instruction  to  those 
versed  in  literature  and  science.  He  commenced  his 
ministry  by  preaching  repentance,  and  a  reformation 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  351 

of  the  corrupt  morals  then  prevalent,  and  also 
assures  his  hearers  that  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
particularly  designed  for  the  "  poor  in  spirit."  He 
foresaw  the  change  that  his  doctrine  was  destined  to 
work  in  the  human  mind,  and,  also,  that  to  effect  it, 
would  cost  him  his  life,  which  he  was  willing  to 
sacrifice,  knowing  as  he  did,  that  his  death  would 
result  in  the  salvation  of  all  mankind.  Hence,  he 
taught,  that  none  should  remain  miserable  but  those 
who,  for  a  love  of  vice,  hated  and  rejected  the  truth. 
*'  He  that  believeth  on  Him  is  not  condemned,  but 
he  that  believeth  not,  is  condemned  already,  because 
he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begot 
ten  son  of  God."  The  horror  of  mind,  which  is  the 
result  of  the  unbelief,  here  spoken  of,  can  only  be 
realized  by  contrasting  it  with  the  calm  and  tranquil 
mind  of  the  Christian,  who,  believing  in  the  risen 
Saviour,  confidently  looks  for  a  blessed  immortality. 
Death  is,  to  such  an  one,  a  messenger  of  peace, 
which  he  meets  with  a  resignation  and  calmness  that 
the  unbeliever  knows  not  of.  Then  why  should  not 
the  believer  in  a  happy  futurity,  willingly  follow  the 
call  of  Death,  and  readily  exchange  this  life  for 
another,  which  will  restore  to  him  infinitely  more 
than  he  will  lose  ?  He  has  already  a  foretaste  of 
the  joys  that  await  him,  and  his  soul  is  more  cheered 
with  the  prospect  before  him,  the  nearer  he  ap 
proaches  the  place  of  his  destination.  He  can,  with 


352  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 


an  eye  of  faith,  address  his  sorrowing  friends  with 
the  comfortable  assurance  that  he  shall  soon  embrace 
them  in  another  life,  which  is  beyond  the  reach  of 
pain  or  death.  Thus,  full  of  hope,  dies  the  Chris 
tian,  and  enters  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 


THE  BEAUTIES   OF  NATURE. 


'     "  And  out  of  the  ground  made  the  Lord  God  to  grow  every  tree 
that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good  for  food.  "—Genesis  ii.  9. 

It  was  evidently  the  design  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
in  creating  the  "  heavens  and  the  earth,"  to  mingle 
the  beautiful  with  the  useful,  in  a  manner  expressly 
intended  for  the  admiration  and  imitation  of  us  whom 
He  has  created  in  His  own  likeness.  Nature  has 
thrown  around  us,  with  an  unsparing  hand,  an  end 
less  variety  of  tree,  shrub,  and  flower,  with  which 
she  has  made  the  earth  one  great  landscape  of  beau 
ty  and  order.  To  those  who  do  not  close  their  eyes 
upon  her  charming  scenery,  and  their  ears  to  her 
numberless  musical  tongues,  she  speaks  in  language 
too  plain  to  be  misunderstood,  of  rtie  consummate 
skill  of  the  great  Architect.  Too  many  of  us,  how 
ever,  manifest  our  ingratitude  to  the  "  Giver  of  every 
good  and  perfect  gift,"  by  neglecting  to  cultivate 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  353 

those  productions  of  the  vegetable  world,  the  only 
merit  of  which  consists  in  being  "  pleasant  to  the 
sight."     If  it  were  not  beneath  the   dignity  of  an 
Infinite  Mind  to  form  the  lily  of  the  valley,  it  surely 
should  not  be  deemed  too  diminutive  employment 
for  us  to  devote  a  small  share  of  our  time  to  the 
rearing  and  nursing  of  plants  and  flowers  to  orna 
ment  our  gardens,  yards,  and  walks.     Those   who 
are  so  fortunate  as  to  be  proprietors  of  the  soil  might, 
with  comparative  little  exertion,  make  almost  a  para 
dise,  as  far  as  outward  appearance  is  concerned,  of 
this  world,  where  now  the  eye   of  the  traveller  is 
only  greeted  with  an  unsightly  mass  of  disorder  and 
confusion.     In  "making  a  clearing,"  the  woodman's 
axe  is  laid  at  the  root  of  every  tree.     Not  even  a 
graceful  elm  or  poplar  is  left  in  the  meadow  or  pas 
ture  for  its  graceful  and  cooling  shade  to  man  and 
beast.     True,  the  space  they  would  occupy  might 
yield  more  of  the  actual  necessaries  for  the  continu 
ance  of  existence,  than  it  would  were  they  left  stand 
ing.     Yes,  we  know  that  the  jingle   of  dollars  and 
cents  is  far  more  grateful  music  to  some  ears  than 
the  notes  of  the  nightingale   and  thrush,  for  these 
are  melodies  which  "  no  gross  ear  can  hear."     It  is 
a  very  mistaken  idea  that  the  acttial  value  of  a  farm 
is  not  greatly  enhanced  by  the  simple    act  of  culti 
vating  flowering  shrubs  and  ornamental  shade  trees, 
especially  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  house  ; 
30* 


354  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

for  who  can  be  so  stupid  that  would  not  prize  the 
cottage-home  more  highly,  around  which  the  stately 
ivy  and  modest  woodbine  had  woven  a  mat  of  living 
green?  I  venture  the  assertion  that  there  is  not 
one,  although,  as  the  phrenologist  would  say,  his 
bump  of  "  ideality  "  were  all  "  smashed  in."  Such 
an  one  was  the  man  who  stood  looking  at  some 
newly-made  flower-beds,  which  my  own  hands,  with 
the  help  of  a  spade,  had  cut  through  the  unyielding 
turf  in  the  yard,  and  said  :  "  Now,  if  you  will  plant 
that  ground  to  potatoes,  they  will  be  worth  the 
trouble  you  have  been  to."  Was  ever  any  thing 
more  provoking?  He  is  probably  of  the  same 
mind  of  a  maiden  lady,  somewhat  advanced  in 
years,  who  sat  in  the  corner  of  a  room  with 
lengthened  visage,  listening  to  the  suggestions  of 
my  friend  and  myself,  with  regard  to  the  most  suit 
able  time  for  planting  dahlia  roots.  Said  she  :  "  I 
would  rather  have  one  good  hill  of  beans  than  all 
your  dahlias."  One  would  judge,  from  appearances 
on  our  street,  that  nearly  all  of  your  farmer  readers 
in  this  vicinty,  perfectly  agree  with  Aunt  Chloe,  for 
while  beans  and  potatoes  flourish  admirably,  scarcely 
a  dahlia  or  tulip  is  allowed  to  show  its  head  in  the 
yard  or  garden.  No,  we  have  no  room  here  for 
such  incumbrances,  so  called ;  but  if  you  were  to 
take  a  trip  this  way  you  would  see  plenty  of  room 
for  any  quantity  of  loose  rubbish,  in  the  shape 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  355 

of  brush-heaps,  knotty  hemlock  logs,  etc.,  not  only 
by  the  road-side,  but  in  the  fields  of  our  most  thrifty 
farmers,  while  the  huge  rocks  and  stones  of  "  smaller 
growth,"  have  never  been  collected  from  the  mea 
dows  and  made  into  a  tidy  stone  wall,  to  take  the 
place  of  our  dilapidated  rail  fences.  Indeed,  some 
of  us  have  no  fences  at  all  to  separate  our  houses 
from  the  road.  There  is  my  excellent  neighbor, 

Major  D ,  who  lives  in  an  elegant  stone  house 

of  two  stories,  with  nothing  at  all  in  front  of  it  to 
relieve  the  eye  of  the  traveller,  save  one  small  but 
ternut  tree,  which  is  the  only  one  of  Nature's  orna 
ments  that  has  been  able  to  brave  the  fury  of  the 
elements,  and  outlive  all  other  obstacles  ;  and,  would 
you  believe  it  ?  its  owner  threatens  destruction  to 
this,  notwithstanding  all  the  protestations  he  has 
heard  against  it  by  those  of  his  own  household,  and 
others,  whom  it  less  concerns.  May  his  and  its 
shadow  be  no  less  for  many  a  year.  A  little  farther 
towards  the  rising  of  the  sun,  is  another,  an  elegant 
white  cottage,  which,  in  skill  of  workmanship,  does 
credit  to  the  taste  of  its  wealthy  owner,  though,  like 
the  first-mentioned,  it  has  no  fence  in  front  to  sepa 
rate  it  from  the  stray  cattle  and  swine,  of  which  our 
street  is  never  clear,  winter  or  summer.  True,  its 
highly-painted  and  varnished  piazza  have  the  genu 
ine  polish,  that  makes  almost  a  mirror  of  it ;  and  the 
same  taste,  with  a  comparatively  small  addition  of 


356  MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 

expense,  laid  out  in  the  front  yard,  would  make  the 
country-seat  of  a  farmer,  which,  in  beauty  and  con 
venience,  would  vie  with  any  that  could  be  found  in 
many  a  day's  travel.  On  the  other  side  lives  "  Un 
cle  Sam,"  in  a  neat  white  house.  He  is  "  uncle  "  to 
every  body.  His  premises  are  well  guarded  with  a 
high  stone  wall  in  front,  which  would  be  almost  as 
formidable  to  scale  as  the  walls  of  Auburn  Prison, 
from  either  side ;  and  were  it  not  for  a  huge  gate, 
which  tires  one  to  think  of,  swinging  one  side  far 
enough  to  get  through,  a  stranger  would  be  puz 
zled  to  find  a  way  -of  entrance.  You  have  prob 
ably  reason  to  believe,  by  the  way  I  have  hauled 
my  neighbor  "  over  the  coals,"  that  our  own  premi 
ses  are  a  model  of  perfection.  Oh,  no  !  Lest  you 
may  ride  out  this  way  some  day  and  find  out  the 
facts,  I  may  as  well  own  up,  and  give  you  some 
thing  of  an  "  inkling,"  —  as  the'boy  had  when  the 
school-master  threw  an  inkstand  at  him  —  of  our 
own  affairs  in  this  respect.  Should  any  of  those, 
whose  taste  I  have  called  in  question,  ever  retort 
upon  me,  they  would  probably  tell  you  that  they 
would  prefer  no  fence  at  all  in  front  of  their  houses 
to  a  high  moss-covered  rail-fence  like  ours,  which 
reminds  me  of  "  peeking  through  the  gates,"  when 
attempting  to  give  a  look  outside.  Nor  is  this  all ; 
that  very  necessary  but  disagreeable  appendage,  to 
every  farm-house,  the  pig-pen,  occupies  a  conspicu 
ous  position  nearly  in  front. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  357 

But,  hold !  we  are  all  trying  to  make  some  im 
provements,  which  industry,  time  and  patience,  will 
surely  accomplish ;  and  we  believe,  as  the  un 
sophisticated  Irish  woman  said,  that  "  this  will  be  a 
beautiful  world  when  it  is  finished."  The  subject- 
matter  of  this  article  was  intended  to  be  what  the 
heading  of  it  indicated,  "  The  Beauties  of  Nature," 
but  we  will  confess  having  dwelt  somewhat  at  length 
on  the  ugly  side  of  the  picture,  for  which  we  per 
haps  owe  our  numerous  readers  an  apology.  We 
have  not,  however,  intended  to  misrepresent  any 
case,  or  put  too  much  paint  in  the  brush.  We  free 
ly  acknowledge  that  there  are  many  exceptions,  who 
belong  on  the  side  of  the  lovers  of  the  beautiful  in 
Nature  and  Art ;  and  this  reserve  includes  nearly 
all  of  the  ladies,  for  every  nook  'and  corner  that  is 
spared  to  them  is  used  for  the  cultivation  of  choice 
plants  and  flowers,  besides,  many  a  window-stool  is 
laden  with  boxes  of  house-plants.  Indeed,  there  is 
one  gentleman  not  a  hundred  miles  from  this  very- 
place,  who  often  wishes  he  were  a  house-plant,  that 
he  might  be  noticed  and  cared  for  by  the  ladies. 
We  are  not  at  all  sure  but  he  is,  as  he  would  wish 
to  be,  a  house-plant  a  large  share  of  his  time,  for, 
though  he  is  a  thrifty  mechanic,  for  some  reason  he 
must  be  violently  opposed  to  "  Capital  Punishment," 
for  he  will  not  even  hang  his  gate.  Finally,  we 
believe  with  Pope,  that  "  all  Nature's  difference  is 


358 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS. 


all  Nature's  peace  ; "  for  some  of  us  cannot  be  rich 
if  fortune  refuses  to  come  down  upon  us  with  a 
golden,  shower,  while  others  can  feel  rich,  who, 
after  the  labors  of  the  day,  can  seat  themselves 
beneath  the  shaded  lattice  and  read  -  a  page  from 
Nature's  own  book. 


NATURE'S  BOOK. 


He  who  would  store  his  mind  with  useful  know 
ledge,  and  pure  original  thoughts,  must  seek  the 
only  original  fountain  of  ideas,  —  Nature's  great 
volume.  To  one  who  studies  her  aright,  she  un 
folds  beauty,  grandeur,  and  sublimity  on  her  every 
page.  A  familiarity  with  the  lessons  there  taught 
gives  us  communion  with  the  Most  High,  and  a 
more  enduring  faith  in  the  blessed  promises  of  the 
Book  of  Revelation.  It  also  inspires  our  hearts 
with*grateful  emotions  to  the  Giver  of  all  good,  for 
the  beauties  of  sight  and  sound  He  has  spread  out 
before  us  for  our  admiration.  True,  we  may  lock 
up  our  souls,  like  the  miser's  coffer,  and  bury  the 
treasure  which  might  have  enriched  our  minds  and 
been  the  joy  of  our  lives.  But  it  is  ingratitude  to 
God,  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  music  of  Nature,  and 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS.  359 

shut  our  eyes  to  all  her  beauties.  The  birds  pour 
forth  their  melodious  notes  in  thankfulness  to  their 
Creator,  and  the  flowing  rivulet  murmurs  His 
praise.  The  flowers,  painted  with  hues  which  no 
art  can  rival,  open  their  bosoms  to  the  genial  beams 
of  the  sun,  or  drink  in  the  refreshing  showers,  shed 
ding  forth  their  grateful  incense. 

Every  breeze  that  fans  our  brows,  whispers  His 
love,  and  the  whole  earth  is  filled  with  demonstra 
tions  of  His  never-failing  kindness.  Who  then  but 
"  the  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart.  There  is  no  God." 

What  more  pleasing  and  profitable  recreation  for 
the  contemplative  mind,  than  to  go  forth  when  lone 
ly  Spring  has  robed  herself  in  beautiful  garments  of 
green,  and  view  the  handiwork  of  the  great  Creator, 
displayed  in  scenes  which  the  very  genius  of  paint 
ing  would  fail  to  portray.  Every  object  which 
meets  his  admiring  gaze,  furnishes  food  for  the  soul, 
and  raises  the  mind  above  the  numerous  cares  and 
anxieties  which  await  all  in  this  existence.  The 
study  of  Nature,  opens  innumerable  sources  of  con 
solation  to  the  down-trodden  spirit  of  the  mourner, 
and  furnishes  a  balm  for  his  wounded  heart.  It  bids 
him  to  raise  his  tearful  eyes  to  the  Helper  above, 
and  call  from  thence  that  assistance,  which  the  ever 
trusting  and  confiding  heart  hopes  to  find  in  the 
greatest  abundance  when  in  the  greatest  need. 


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